LOS ANGELES, California (InsidePulse) — Animated icon Woody Woodpecker, arrested earlier this week for aggravated assault, was formally charged under California’s Hate Crime Statute yesterday afternoon.
Woodpecker was arraigned in Los Angeles Distict Court on charges of aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon and a civil rights violation. He plead not guilty and was released after posting a $1 million dollar bond.
The alleged assault occurred at approximately 5:11 p.m. Wednesday when Woodpecker was taking an early evening flight through Woodley Park when he crossed paths with the victim, identified as Jacob Starinski, 65.
Woodpecker then allegedly “dive-bombed” toward Starinski’s wooden prosthetic leg and began rapidly pecking at it. Witnesses claim that Woodpecker continued the assault long after the leg was dislodged from Starinski.
Starinski managed to hop to safety and call for help. Woodpecker was detained shortly thereafter. LAPD Chief of Police Aaron Cameron said he considered the incident “very serious. We don’t tolerate this kind of behavior from anyone, regardless of his or her fame. There is not place for hate here.”
The actor and his lawyers maintain he is innocent and contend that this is a case of someone feigning victim status for financial gain.
Woodpecker attorney Akili Jonez stated that this is also a case of “malicious prosecution” in attempt to “drag his clients name through the mud.”
“This is a clear case of an overzealous District Attorney trying to make a name for himself by convicting a celebrity” said Jonez. “Mr. Woodpecker as a beloved icon to millions and charging him with a hate crime is just an attack on his character.”
Los Angeles District Attorney Joe Reid defended the hate crime charges. “Mr. Starinski was targeted because of his disability. We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” said Reid in a statement issued from his office.
Woodpecker, in 1996, shortly before entering a treatment facility
In 1996 Woodpecker was charged with vandalism after allegedly nearly destroying a neighbors deck. That case was settled out of court, for a rumored six figure payout. Shortly thereafter Woodpecker went into treatment for what his publicist called “obsessive compulsive tendencies and mental health concerns.”
