‘Master of Disaster’ pleads not guilty to assaulting girlfriend
Duane Thomas Peters, the professional skateboarder and punk rock singer nicknamed “The Master of Disaster,” pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he assaulted his girlfriend at their Long Beach home.
Peters, 52, was arrested in early February in the 4000 block of East 3rd Street, said Long Beach police Sgt. Megan Zabel. He was charged with one felony count of willful infliction of corporal injury, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors allege that Peters became enraged with his girlfriend and assaulted her. Neighbors reportedly heard the noise and did their best to intervene. They held Peters back while waiting for authorities to arrive.
Peters, an Orange County native, is a skateboarding and punk rock pioneer. He has been credited as the first person to do a 360-degree loop, called “the loop of death,” and for inventing such tricks as “the Fake and Thruster” and “the Indy Air.”
If convicted, he could face a maximum of four years in state prison.
A district attorney’s spokeswoman said Peters is due back in court on April 9.
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