DaBaby has been hit with felony battery charges that stem from an alleged attack during a music video shoot last year.
TMZ reported that property manager Gary Pagar filed a lawsuit against DaBaby, born Jonathan Krik, claiming he sustained serious injuries from trying to shut down a video shoot at his rental property.
In December 2021, Kirk rented Pagar’s Los Angeles mansion for one week to shoot a music video. Pagar claims that Kirk agreed to keep the number of guests to a maximum of 12 during his stay. When Pagar visited the property on Dec. 2, he found more than 40 people at the residence, violating the lease agreement.
In video footage obtained by TMZ, Pagar was assaulted while trying to resolve the situation, as a member of DaBaby’s crew shoved him to the ground. Kirk allegedly then followed up with a punch to Pagar’s mouth, knocking out his tooth.
Another man named Thankgod Awute began to participate in the beating of Pagar and stole his phone to prevent him from calling the police. Awute has now been charged with felony robbery.
This news arrived days after new footage of DaBaby’s fatal shooting of a 19-year-old at a North Carolina Walmart surface, making his self-defense claims appear questionable.
According to TMZ, Kirk’s lawyers denied that the Rolling Stone published surveillance footage, which was previously unseen, contradicting the rapper’s self-defense narrative. Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, who both represent DaBaby, said the footage of the shooting was reviewed by prosecutors back in 2018. Prosecutors concluded that DaBaby did act in self-defense.
“Witnesses were interviewed and corroborated. Mr. Kirk’s statement,” the rappers’ legal team told the outlet. “The entirety of the surveillance video was viewed and determined to corroborate Mr. Kirk’s statement …. Mr. Krik was protecting himself and his family at the time of the shooting.”