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A New York jury found actor Jonathan Majors guilty of assault and harassment for attacking his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.
According to the NY Times, on Monday, Dec. 18, a six-person jury reached the verdict after roughly five hours of deliberation spread across three days.
Majors was not found guilty of the two other charges of intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree.
The “Creed III” actor’s sentencing is set for Feb. 6. His charges carry a sentence of up to one year in prison.
Majors received the verdict in the Manhattan courtroom surrounded by family, friends, and his current girlfriend, actress Megan Good.
Jonathan Majors found guilty on two of four counts
The four charges stemmed from Mar. 25, when Majors called 911 to report that he found Jabbari unconscious in their apartment.
The actor was arrested after police found injuries on Jabbari. Police reports indicate there was a visible laceration behind her ear and she had a bruised and fractured finger.
Majors pleaded not guilty to all charges but did not take the stand to testify during the trial.
During the first four days of the court proceedings, Jabbari recalled the incident that left her with her injuries. She stated that she attempted to confront Majors after seeing a flirty text message on his phone. Majors then pried her finger from the phone and proceeded to grab her arm and right hand, and then twisted her forearm.
She said, “I felt like a really hard blow across my head,” in response to Majors striking her in the head to get the phone away from her.
Major’s defense team argued that Jabbari’s credibility was questionable, and she was motivated by seeking revenge as a scorned former lover. They asked the jury to factor in Jabbari’s actions after the assault, stating that she spent time with three strangers and went clubbing with them into the early hours of the morning.
District Attorney responds to guilty verdict
Per The Hollywood Reporter, during the closing arguments, Major’s attorney, Priya Chaudhry, said, “His fear of what happens when a Black man in America calls 911 came true.”
During the trial, embarrassing evidence was entered that damaged the defense’s argument.
NY Times reports a recording from Jabbari was played in the courtroom documenting Majors suggesting she “treat him like Michelle Obama and Coretta Scott King had treated their husbands.” Jurors were also shown text messages where Majors attempted to persuade Jabbari not to seek treatment for a head wound and threatened suicide.
After the verdict was handed down, Jabbari’s attorney, Brittany Henderson, said it confirmed that “no abuser, no matter how powerful they may seem, is above the law.”
The charges against Majors were brought by the state of New York rather than his former partner. The case was considered a criminal trial as opposed to a civil case.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg provided a statement after the verdict was read:
“At the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, we are committed to centering survivors in all of our work. The evidence presented throughout this trial illustrated a cycle of psychological and emotional abuse, and escalating patterns of coercion far too common across the many intimate partner violence cases we see each and every day.”
He thanked the jury for their service and commended Jabbari for “bravely” telling her story and “reliving her trauma” on the stand.