We're learning more about the assault charge leveled against former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart during a September 7th tour stop in Kentucky.

The victim, Cecil “CJ” Curtsinger, who owns the tour bus Hart used at the show, tells police in Mercer, Kentucky that Hart's manager called him over to the bus, telling him Hart wanted to speak to him. Upon heading to the back of the bus, Hart shut the door and allegedly assaulted CJ. Curtsinger says, “[He] threw me down, started [to] cuss [at] me, hitting me, pushing me around, then told me to get off MY bus.” Hart denies it, saying it is "completely false and without any basis whatsoever. I played drums on [The Dead's] ‘Shakedown Street,’ but I never expected to be ‘The Victim or the Crime.’”

An arrest warrant for Hart was issued. If arrested, tried and found guilty, he could be sentenced to a year in jail. Curtsinger is puzzled by it all, saying, "I’m still trying to figure it out myself. It’s kind of a sad situation.”

Hart resumes his tour in October.

 

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