Russell Crowe arrested for second degree assault in NYC
Actor Russell Crowe has been arraigned on assault and weapon possession charges after an alleged altercation with a hotel employee in New York.
The "weapon" was a telephone.
Prosecutors say the Oscar winner admitted to a police officer that he threw a telephone at a Manhattan hotel employee out of anger. They say the phone hit the worker in the face, causing the employee "substantial pain."
The second-degree assault charge is punishable by four years in prison. The actor has been released on his own recognizance and is due back in court in September.
Crowe's lawyer told reporters the incident happened because Crowe was trying to get his wife on the phone in Australia. He says Crowe was in his hotel room, couldn't get a phone line and that a "disagreement" followed. Police say Crowe then went to the front desk.
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