NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A previously scheduled court date for the CMA Entertainer of the Year has been moved up, and his case will be bound over to a Davidson County Grand Jury.
A Nashville court spokesperson confirmed to NewsNation affiliate WKRN that Morgan Wallen, who faces four charges related to his throwing a chair off a Broadway rooftop bar onto the street below in April, will waive his preliminary hearing, and his case will be bound over to a grand jury.
Wallen was arrested on April 7 by the Metro Nashville Police Department for throwing the chair off the roof of Eric Church’s bar Chief’s in the 200 block of Broadway. The chair nearly hit Metro officers who were standing in front of the bar around 10:53 p.m. Authorities reported the chair landed approximately 3 feet away from two officers.
An investigation identified Wallen as responsible for throwing the chair through video surveillance footage. The footage showed Wallen lunging and throwing an object over the roof, according to the arrest report.
Witnesses reportedly told officers they were standing next to Wallen and observed him “pick up the chair, throw it over him, laughing afterward.”
He was taken into custody and charged with three counts of reckless endangerment—two for each of the officers in the vicinity where the chair landed and one for the danger to the public—and disorderly conduct.
According to the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office, the reckless endangerment charges are felonies; the disorderly conduct charge is a misdemeanor.
Two weeks after his arrest, Wallen addressed the incident on social media.
“I didn’t feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks. I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” the musician said in his first post. He followed up with, “I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change. -MW”
Attorneys for Wallen were originally set to appear in court on Thursday, Dec. 12, but the court moved the date to Tuesday, Dec. 10.
The Davidson County Grand Jury is expected to be impaneled sometime in January.