Rod Stewart and son reach plea deal over charges of punching Palm Beach hotel guard

Rod Stewart performs on stage at the Brit Awards in London

Credit: AP

Rod Stewart and his son have reached a plea deal to settle charges over from an altercation with a security guard at a Florida hotel.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers announced on Friday that Stewart and his son, Sean, would not be going to trial for allegedly punching a security guard in the chest after being refused entry to The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach on New Year’s Day, 2020.

Bouncer Jessie Dixon told police then that the 76-year-old British rock icon and his family were at the check-in table for a private party that they were not authorised to attend.

Mr Dixon claimed the group became loud and began causing a scene. Mr Dixon told investigators he put his hand on the younger Stewart’s chest and told him to back up and make space, the report said.

That is when Sean got “nose to nose” with Mr Dixon.

Rod Stewart with wife Penny Lancaster

Credit: Eddie Mulholland

Sean, 40, then shoved Mr Dixon backwards. Rod punched him in his “left rib cage area” with a closed fist, a police report said. Mr Dixon signed an affidavit saying that he wanted to press charges against the Stewarts.

Sean, 40, then shoved Mr Dixon backwards. He claimed Rod punched him in his “left rib cage area” with a closed fist, according to a police report. Mr Dixon signed an affidavit saying that he wanted to press charges against the Stewarts.

The pair was charged with battery.

The police report said Sean told investigators he became agitated when they were not able to attend the event “due to Dixon’s interaction with him and his family.”

Stephen Mancino, Palm Beach officer, said he viewed security footage at the hotel and determined that the Stewarts were the “primary aggressors.”

Two Breakers hotel employees who were working the private event told police they saw Sean push Mr Dixon and Rod punch the guard.

The singer “apologised for his behavior in the incident,” Officer Mancino wrote in the arrest report.

“It sounds like everything’s been worked out,” said Alexandra Antonacci, an attorney representing the Stewarts.

Judge August Bonavita scheduled a hearing for March 26 to formally close out the matter.