(NewsnMusic) A jury of six women found Kevin Gates guilty of battery Wednesday, October 26, in a Polk County, Florida courtroom.
He was sentenced to 180 days in the Polk County Jail, with credit for any time served, and fines and court costs, according to WFLA.
Gates, born Marcellus Kevin Gates, got upset when 18-year-old fan Miranda Dixon grabbed his pants during an August 2015 concert at Rumor’s Nite Club in Lakeland, Florida. The rapper responded by kicking Dixon in the chest hard enough for her to be admitted to the hospital, where she had to undergo a CT scan.
Video of the incident went viral.
“She told me that she was excited to see him and next thing she knows she was kicked in the chest and she was passed out,” Dixon’s mother Kristy Irelan told WFLA.
During a previous hearing Gates and his attorney, Jose Baez, admitted the rapper kicked Dixon, but attempted to have the charges dropped using theStand Your Ground defense.
That argument fell on deaf ears. The jury found him guilty after deliberating less than two hours.
Dee Beasley is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of FreshAsFrankie.com. After starting out as a musician-producer he went on to study the music business and work in Urban Promotions, followed by artist management. Mr. Beasley entrepreneurial spirit has led him to launch numerous businesses in music and fashion marketing. He’s a huge fan of the ’80s and ’90s Hip Hop and R&B, and he’s a firm believer that Hip Hop Music will never die.