Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Floyd Mayweather Jr. court hearing delayed until March

Boxer still faces bench trial in February on a misdemeanor battery charge

Mayweather Jr. in Court

Steve Marcus

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. leaves the courtroom in Las Vegas Justice Court on Jan. 24, 2011. His preliminary hearing was continued until March 10.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Court

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. rises as his name is called in Las Vegas Justice Court on Jan. 24, 2011. His preliminary hearing was continued until March 10. Launch slideshow »

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. won't have his next round in court on several felony charges until March, thanks to a delay granted this morning in Las Vegas Justice Court.

The 33-year-old Mayweather, wearing a vest and tie, made a brief appearance in court this morning for a preliminary hearing on eight misdemeanor and felony charges stemming from a Sept. 9 dispute with his former girlfriend, Josie Harris.

Mayweather's attorney, Karen Winckler, asked for a continuance of the case and Chief Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich said prosecutors had no problem with the delay. Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa reset the date for 9:30 a.m. March 10.

After the brief court appearance, Mayweather quickly left with his entourage: his girlfriend, Shantel Jackson, Leonard Ellerbe, his main adviser, and Sam Watson, another adviser. Mayweather at first ignored reporters' questions as he walked away from the courtroom, then turned around to speak.

"Yeah, I want to say something. When I'm feeding the homeless come interview me," he said. "When I'm going for kids that are less fortunate, that's when I want you to come interview me."

As Mayweather waited to get on an elevator, James Dean Leavitt, chairman of the Nevada Board of Regents, came up to shake his hand and introduced himself. Other fans recognized him and shook his hand as he left the Regional Justice Center.

Mayweather faces charges of felony coercion, grand larceny and robbery, and misdemeanor domestic battery and harassment after allegedly beating his ex-girlfriend and stealing her cell phone during an argument in front of their three children last week.

The coercion counts stem from Mayweather allegedly threatening to "beat" two of his children if they called 911 or left the house, according to the complaint.

During the Sept. 9 argument with his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, Mayweather allegedly grabbed her hair and threw her to the floor, the complaint stated.

He also allegedly threatened to kill Harris and her boyfriend or make her boyfriend "disappear," according to the criminal complaint.

Mayweather is out on bail and could face up to 34 years in state prison if he's convicted of all charges.

Documents indicated Harris and Mayweather lived together for seven years and separated in May 2010 after 15 "on and off" years.

A nine-page request for a protection order alleges Mayweather pulled Harris's hair, punched her in the head and twisted her arm while she screamed for their children, ranging in age from 7 to almost 11, to call 911.

"He yelled and screamed that he was going to kill me and my boyfriend," Harris wrote. "Floyd has threatened to have other people do harm to me as well and if (there) is a way I can be protected from that please help me."

Meanwhile, Mayweather also faces a bench trial Feb. 3 in Las Vegas Justice Court on a misdemeanor battery complaint for allegedly poking a security guard in the face several times Nov. 15 over a parking ticket. That trial will be at 9 a.m. Feb. 3 before Justice of the Peace Janiece Marshall.

The battery allegation stems from a Nov. 15 confrontation over parking tickets between the undefeated champion and a security guard outside Mayweather's home.

Mayweather faces a a six-month jail sentence and a $1,000 fine if convicted on that charge.

Mayweather is considered one of the sport's top performers, with a record of 41-0 and 25 knockouts. He goes by the nickname "Money" and earned more than $20 million in May from his fight in Las Vegas against "Sugar" Shane Mosley.

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