Miss Fortune Vocalist Exonerated of Domestic Violence Charges
As you may recall, a couple of weeks ago Sumerian Records announced that they were dropping the band Miss Fortune after its vocalist, Mikey Sawyer, was arrested for domestic assault and battery. Now Sawyer has taken to the band’s Facebook page to announce that the charges have been dropped:
“Dear fans and friends alike, I promised that I would give a statement about my recent arrest and I apologize for the delay.
“I wanted to have a few things in order before I addressed this publicly, but I believe now is the time.
“I just want to start by saying that, on November 4th, I was exonerated of Domestic Assault & Battery charges.
“The reason for that is simple: I’m innocent, and I always have been.
“For the past week, I haven’t addressed the fans, Sumerian Records, or the media because I had not done what I have been accused of, and I knew that.
“Instead, I endured the most brutal public humiliation that I’ve ever experienced in my 22 years on this Earth, but I hope to end that here.
“On Friday, October 24th, I was arrested after getting into a fight with a 40-year-old man who was abusing my grandmother and I.
“When police respond to a domestic dispute, it is mandatory that they make an arrest when there are injuries.
“I am forever grateful to my band, my family, and the fans who have stood by me in this dark time of my life.
“I also do not condone domestic violence of any kind, especially now that I have been the victim of it.
“I sincerely apologize to everyone who had to miss us on The Get Real Tour with The Word Alive & The Color Morale.
“I am still the lead singer of Miss Fortune and we are currently writing our second album, which will be self-titled.
“Appropriate, isn’t it? Thank you guys for listening.
“- Mikey Sawyer”
He also included a scan of the police documents which prove he’s been exonerated:
In response, Sumerian released the following statement, also on Facebook:
“After receiving confirmed legal documentation, it has come to our attention that Mikey Sawyer of Miss Fortune was exonerated of domestic violence charges. We are happy to have received this news, and glad to know Mikey did not participate in such an ugly act.”
Somewhat oddly, the post doesn’t address the issue of whether or not the band has now been invited back onto the label. When Sawyer was first arrested, I joked that it’s “a good thing that Roger Goodell doesn’t run Sumerian” — but now it looks like Sumerian was being (understandably) reactionary, very likely in no small part because of the public outrage over Goodell’s completely inept handling of the NFL’s various domestic abuse scandals. So it will be interesting to whether or not the label and the band now patch things up.
[via The PRP]
