Matt Barnes surrendered to police Wednesday to face an assault charge stemming from the New York City nightclub brawl that happened back in December, law enforcement confirms.
According to the NY Post, Barnes turned himself in at the 10th Precinct station house and was issued a desk appearance ticket for misdemeanor assault. He was accused of choking a woman at Avenue nightclub in the early hours of Dec. 5th when a brawl broke out.
Barnes, however, claimed that he was defending himself. He says the woman slapped him after he accidentally butt bumped her; her crew, including men, allegedly jumped in and attacked Barnes as well.
Jasmine Besiso and Myrone Powell who were involved filed a lawsuit against Barnes saying he approached her and began to choke her without provocation.
Barnes’ teammate DeMarcus Cousins was in attendance too and allegedly helped Matt out, but he was not charged with a crime.