Chair-Throwing Suspect Has Record

Bryant Jackson, the man Auburn Hills, Mich., police believe threw the chair during a brawl at the end of the Detroit-Indiana game on Nov. 19, has been charged with violent crimes in the past.

Jackson, 35, was a co-defendant in an attempted murder case that was dropped in 1988 and was also convicted of misdemeanor assault in 2000, according to court records.

“My position is, the past is the past and it has nothing to do with what’s going on here,” Ken Karasick, the attorney representing Jackson, said. “We were all different people 10 years ago.”

Karasick contacted police earlier this week on behalf of Jackson after videotape of the incident was aired repeatedly in an effort to identify him. Police have not spoken to Jackson.

“He hasn’t been charged and we’re waiting to see what the Oakland County prosecutor’s office is going to do,” Karasick said. “What I saw on the tape they showed me wasn’t clear. I couldn’t tell who threw the chair or even if there was a chair thrown, that’s how bad [the tape] was.”

Jackson, though, has had a wide range of legal problems, from failure to pay speeding tickets to a charge of attempted murder.

In 1988, Jackson was charged with assault with intent to murder and felony firearm possession. The charges were dropped when a witness failed to testify, according to Wayne County court records. In 2000, Jackson was convicted of domestic violence for assaulting the mother of his child, according to Washtenaw County court records. He was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to take anger management classes.

The Detroit News reported that Jackson’s license has been suspended nine times since 1998 for failing to pay speeding tickets and other traffic fines. The two most recent suspensions came last month.

Meanwhile, two fans, both season ticket holders, have been banned from The Palace.

John Green, who according to police sparked the brawl by throwing a cup at the Pacers’ Ron Artest, and Charlie Haddad, who a Piston spokesman said tapes show was the fan who came onto the court and was punched by the Pacers’ Jermaine O’Neal, were sent letters informing them of the ban.