Days after Morgan Wallen allegedly threw a chair off the roof of Chief’s bar in Nashville, legal experts are saying the act may land the country music star behind bars for a while.
The Last Night hitmaker was arrested on Sunday, April 7, for three counts of reckless endangerment, Class E felonies, and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, after throwing the chair off Eric Church’s bar. Witnesses claimed Wallen laughed after tossing the chair off the roof. It landed near two Nashville police officers.
Morgan Wallen’s attorney also addressed the situation in a statement. “At 10:53 p.m. Sunday evening, Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities.”
With his court date scheduled for May 3, legal experts are weighing in on what type of sentencing the singer could receive.
Nashville criminal defense attorney, David Raybin told PEOPLE that Wallen could technically face up to six years in prison due to the three counts. However, the chances of him getting sentenced to the maximum and even serving the sentences consecutively are “very remote.”
“I seriously doubt how he would get consecutive time,” Raybin said. He notably has no involvement in the case. “It’s based on prior record and extreme dangerousness of the offense: professional, criminal, sex offense. It’s a pretty limited category.”
Although he doesn’t want to minimize Wallen’s charges, Raybin said the country artist will probably not be eligible for consecutive sentences. “It’s probably a maximum of two years assuming he was not put on probation.”
Morgan Wallen Could Face a ‘Harsher’ Sanction in the Chair-Throwing Case
Meanwhile, Raybin stated due to the police being involved in the chair-throwing incident, Morgan Wallen could face a “harsher sanction” for his actions.
“That chair could have fallen on them, and they could have been killed,” Raybin pointed out. He then said there is a general focus on how the situation will be handled, given Wallen’s celebrity status.
“The question is going to be because he’s a celebrity, should he be treated differently,” Raybin continued. “Either too lightly or too harshly.”
While he doesn’t want to speculate how Wallen’s case will go, Raybin has seen cases where sentences are split.
“Sometimes they require split confinement,” he explained. “Which is some modest amount of incarceration to say, ‘This is just wrong,’ and then the rest on probation.”
Raybin added he doesn’t see Wallen going to jail for two years. However, he also doesn’t see the country artist getting complete probated sentence either.