Morgan Wallen's Nashville bar arrest could land him 'in jail for up to 6 years': legal expert
Morgan Wallen may face years in jail for allegedly throwing a chair over a rooftop bar in Nashville, but his image may still stay intact, experts say.
Morgan Wallen may face serious consequences as the result of his arrest in Nashville on Sunday after he allegedly threw a chair off a rooftop bar, according to legal experts.
Wallen, 30, was charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct, the Metro Nashville Police Department said.
While the "Wasted on You" singer was released from jail by 3:30 a.m. on a $15,250 bond, Rither Alabre, a former New York prosecutor and current partner in the White Collar Defense & Investigation Practice Group at Blank Rome LLP, told Fox News Digital that Wallen could see major legal penalties from his wild night out at Chief's Bar.
"The felony charges are the most serious ones and could land Wallen in jail for up to six years if he is prosecuted and convicted of those charges," Alabre said. "The reckless endangerment counts could have been charged as misdemeanors, which would have made them less serious and exposed Wallen to a maximum of up to 11 months and 29 days in jail.
"However, a reckless endangerment count can be charged as a class E felony if the alleged act was committed with a deadly weapon."
Alabre noted that authorities in this case are maintaining that the chair allegedly thrown by Wallen "landed close to police officers and other members of the public, was a deadly weapon, and that elevated the charge to an E felony charge."
"For the Class E felony charges of reckless endangerment, Wallen is facing not less than one year nor more than six years in prison," Alabre said. "It appears unlikely that the charges would be completely dismissed against Wallen because, according to some reports, the police reviewed video showing Wallen ‘lunging and throwing an object over the roof’ and some witnesses claimed that they saw him throwing the chair."
He added, "Given those allegations, the next steps would be for Wallen’s lawyer to engage with prosecutors and try to resolve this matter with a plea to a lesser charge, either a misdemeanor or even possibly a lower charge where he would face little to no jail time."
The Metro Nashville Police Department shared Wallen's booking photo on social media along with an arrest report stating he was "booked early today on 3 cts of felony reckless endangerment and 1 ct of misdemeanor disorderly conduct for throwing a chair from the rooftop of Chief's Bar Sun night. The chair landed on Broadway, close to 2 MNPD officers. His bond: $15,250."
COUNTRY STAR MORGAN WALLEN ARRESTED IN NASHVILLE FOR THROWING CHAIR OFF ROOFTOP BAR
An arrest report said authorities were standing in front of Chief's Bar on Broadway when a chair fell from above, landing just feet away from them, according to WTVF. The Eric Church-backed bar opened its doors for the first time on April 5.
"At 10:53 p.m. Sunday evening Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities," Wallen's attorney, Worrick Robinson, told Fox News Digital.
Alabre added, "While these are serious allegations, since there are no reports of injuries to the public, Wallen’s lawyer may ultimately be able to resolve this matter with a non-jail disposition such as probation, but it is too early to predict at this point what may be a realistic disposition."
Wallen's alleged chair-throwing incident happened just days after he kicked off the One Night at a Time 2024 tour. Wallen is slated to perform in two weeks in Missouri with Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith and Lauren Watkins before a headlining gig in the California desert at the Stagecoach festival.
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Only time will tell if the "Whiskey Glasses" singer's latest antics affect his career.
"He had one big scandal that might have ended the career of many, and he was able to come through because of time and the power of his music. He continues to put out great music, which has served him. But this was stone-cold crazy," brand expert Eric Schiffer told Fox News Digital.
"What it does is it kind of cements this perception of him being unstable emotionally, and he could have really hurt someone. There was a lack of emotional control and empathy in what could have been an even worse felony had someone been seriously hurt."
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"This is not going to kill him," Schiffer said. "It will likely cause him to think it's OK to do it … he'll likely get charges reduced and or dismissed since no one was hurt, and he'll sell a lot of albums and get downloads because of the attention."
"But it will teach him the wrong thing, which is maturity and understanding the importance of restraint, especially given the blessings he's been given with his position."
He added, "His next step is just to focus on what he does. Provide fans with what they want, which is great music, and allow some time to get this behind him."
