It's been a rough year for 45-year-old comedian Katt Williams, whose been involved in too many cases to keep track of. He has just stood trial for a number of charges stemming from an incident when he and two acquaintances allegedly held and assaulted his bodyguard. Considering all the charges he was facing initially, he should be please with the outcome, as he has avoided any jail time and has instead been sentenced with five years of probation, in addition to fines he must pay his former bodyguard, reports the AJC. He has also been banned from two counties in Georgia.
The assault took place on Feb. 28 and was allegedly in response to Williams' bodyguard, Corey Dixon, refusing to take part in an undisclosed criminal activity. Williams took part in the assault with the help of two others, including 24-year-old Tatiana Smith, who was alleged to have choked Dixon and beat him with a baseball bat. The next day, Williams received a battery charge for allegedly punching an employee of a pool supplies store.
In response to the assault of his bodyguard, Williams was taken into custody on March 8. Authorities had raided his home in order to make the arrest, and they found large quantities of marijuana as well as several firearms.
With multiple felony charges stacked against him, Williams accepted a plea deal in which the charges of aggravated assault and weapons possession were thrown out. Charges of false imprisonment and terroristic threats were reduced to simple assault. If he meets the terms of his probation, the marijuana charge will also reportedly be dismissed.
Williams has been ordered to pay a sum of $7,500 to Dixon, and he is required to carry out 100 hours of community service. Though his probation sentence is for five years, it could be over in as soon as two years time if he meets all of the requisite conditions. The assault happened in Hall County, which was where Williams had resided. He has since moved to a different county due to the ban, which also bars him from Dawson County because it is part of the same judicial circuit as Hall County.
Keep in mind that Williams is also dealing with multiple other legal battles. In September, he was arrested on a charge of criminal damage to property in the second degree, stemming from a February incident when he allegedly threw a man's cellphone. And you may remember the most infamous episode he's been involved in this year -- when he found himself in a vicious brawl with a 17-year-old boy after a pickup soccer game.
Of the other cases Williams will inevitably have to deal with shortly, his lawyer, Drew Findling, says his client is "approaching things methodically, and whatever happens happens.” And apparently none of this madness has affected Williams' lucrative comedy career, as he has booked dates at top-tier stadiums in the coming months. Findling confidently says that Williams' career "doesn’t have one barrier to it now."