Playboi Carti Considering Appeal in Assault Case

Beltrami & Co Ltd are advising their client Jordan Carton who is seeking an Appeal after being found guilty of assault after trial.

The American rapper – better known as Playboi Carti – was on tour and travelling from a gig at the Garage in Glasgow when he was arrested at Gretna Services.

At the JP Court in Dumfries this week he was found guilty of charges of damaging the tour bus and assaulting the driver. The court heard evidence from witnesses that he had acted in self-defence.

The Court heard that Carti, 22, had flown his witness to the UK on Wednesday to give evidence at his trial, where he was represented by solicitor advocate Alan Gravelle.

During his European tour last year the rapper had hired the luxury coach with beds and other equipment for around £30,000. The trouble arose after Carti’s coach had problems with the heating over the previous eight days and on the journey from Glasgow to London the heating would not work again.

When it stopped at the Gretna Services at 2am in the morning the driver had tried to repair the fault but switched off the on-board computer and couldn’t get it to start again leaving the bus stranded with the door partially open.

The trouble started when a relief coach was sent but it did not have the same facilities, leading to an exchange between Carti and the driver. Carti denied assault because he had acted in self-defence.

One of Carti’s tour managers Giovanni Vargas, 36, from New Orleans said: “He was not happy about the relief bus which was not up to our standards and he was expressing his dismay at the whole thing.

“I saw the German driver running towards Mr Carti who punched him and was trying to defend himself.’

Another tour manager Jason Ross, 33 from Atlanta added: “The German bus driver was agitated, angry and had an angry face and charged at Mr Carti who punched him to defend himself.”

Two employees of the coach company also gave evidence. Alistair MacLeish, 57, said: “I saw things being thrown around the tour bus and then a man ran across and punched the driver on the face, cutting him and knocking his glasses off.

“It was the accused Carti who had been standing with a group but as two guys tried to restrain him he wriggled past them ran across and punched the driver who stumbled back. The driver did not do anything to him and did not retaliate.”

Another driver David Playfair, 67, said the driver had not done anything except head across to his coach when it was damaged. “The driver went forward to protect his coach when Mr Carti attacked him."

JP Alan Stannett rejected self-defence and found him guilty of punching the driver on the face after a four-hour trial.

Mr Gravelle asked the court to grant Carti, 22, from the state of Georgia, an absolute discharge so that his access to the UK in the future would not be put at risk. But the court fined him a total of £800 - £500 for assault and £300 for damaging the driver’s window of the coach.

Beltrami & Co Ltd are advising Carti in relation to an appeal against both conviction and sentence.

Read the full story here 

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