Battery Trial Delayed for Motley Crue Singer

Vince Neil’s trial on misdemeanor battery charges, stemming from an incident with a fan in Las Vegas last April during an outing with actor Nicolas Cage, has been delayed for a month.

Police in Las Vegas charged the Motley Crue singer with allegedly pulling a woman’s hair so forcefully on April 7 that she was brought to the pavement at the Aria Hotel. He faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail if convicted. The trial was due to begin today, but according to the Seattle Times, Neil’s lawyers told the judge that a key defense witness wasn’t available this week, and the case will now be starting instead on Oct. 20.

Las Vegas police spokesman Michael Rodriguez said the fan — later identified as Kelly Guerrero – initially approached Cage for an autograph. Neil “came up to her from behind and grabbed her by the hair,” Rodriguez told NBC.

Cage then apparently took Neil outside to try to calm him down, and a scuffle – captured by a cellphone from inside a nearby car – ensued between the two men. Cage appeared to say something like “I’m helping you” at first. Cage then grabbed Neil in a headlock, and yelled, “Stop this s— now!” before men, who appear to be with security, arrived.

Neil later denied dragging the woman to the ground, with sources “close to the Motley Crue frontman” telling TMZ that he was just trying to “push past her” because of her “very aggressive” behavior. Law enforcement countered his not-guilty plea by saying that casino surveillance footage allegedly told a different story.

Guerrero, a registered nurse, then sued Neil for $75,000, claiming that she suffered “substantial medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and emotional distress.” She was with her 14-year-old son at the time of the alleged assault. In the lawsuit, she says she told Cage that her son was a fan, and that “Neil attacked Kelly without warning or provocation. Neil grabbed Kelly’s hair from behind, yanking her down to the pavement on her back.”

Though Neil was charged with battery, he was not arrested. He earlier faced battery and disorderly conduct charges after allegedly bruising his ex-girlfriend around the shoulder in 2011 at a Las Vegas theater. Neil pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, resulting in a $1,000 fine; the battery charge was then dropped. His other run-ins with the law include various batteries and assaults, a couple of DUIs and an accident that found Neil behind the wheel when Hanoi Rocks’ drummer was killed in 1984.

Originally posted on Fox5Vegas.