Alex Lifeson's Assault Case Concludes

[BigBadBrian]

Alex Lifeson (Zivojinovich,) plead no contest to a reduced charge of misdemeanor resisting arrest without violence in a Naples courtroom Thursday morning.The plea deal came after a judge reduced charges facing Zivojinovich's son, Justin, from a felony to a misdemeanor. Justin Zivojinovich also plead no contest.

The charges stemmed from a New Year's Eve 2003 fight at the Ritz-Carlton beach resort in Naples when he was arrested along with his son and daughter in law after allegedly fighting with deputies and hotel staff.

He was accused of pushing a deputy down the stairs and spitting blood in the face of another. Both intially faced felony charges of resisting arrest with violence.

As part of the plea deal, both father and son received a year of probation and were ordered to pay court costs. The elder Zivojinovich will also pay restitution, the amount of which will be determined later.

The following statement was issued by Alex:

"Today closes a difficult and painful period in the lives of my family, my friends, and myself. But the sun is shining and it feels good.

The past fifteen months have been an incredible tangle of emotions and stress, but the last two weeks have been spent in the glow of a love of a family united together and the unconditional support of friends old and new.

Life is not a perfect thing, and there are many opportunities for sadness, some greater than others. But it is our ability as humans to rise up out of the darkness and accept our fate with a sense of understanding and dignity, so that we may move forward in a more positive light and make the next day better than the last.

Compromise is the mark of a civilized society. It doesn't always seem fair up close, but from a few steps away it becomes clear that as an instrument of understanding, it is absolutely necessary if we are to live in a world of mutual respect and consideration.

And it is a spirit of acceptance, reconciliation and forgiveness that I choose to not spend another minute living a minute ago. There is still far too much light and beauty in the road ahead."

Alex (Lifeson) Zivojinovich

[Stillwell]

When will Alex and the rest of RUSH be prosecuted for making crap albums? The death penalty is in dire need for those three.

[academic punk]

he was able to keep a case open for 16 months??? and then not even deal with a trial, but enter a plea deal????

Verily, the justice system does work differently for the wealthy...

[rustoffa]

Have you seen Lifeson lately?

He looks like he ate 2112 DQ Blizzards.

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by Stillwell
When will Alex and the rest of RUSH be prosecuted for making crap albums? The death penalty is in dire need for those three.

Here's hoping your lungs burst! Cheers! :gulp:

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by rustoffa
Have you seen Lifeson lately?

He looks like he ate 2112 DQ Blizzards.

Ahahahahahaha!:D

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Originally posted by Stillwell
When will Alex and the rest of RUSH be prosecuted for making crap albums? The death penalty is in dire need for those three.

Yea, they're so crap that they are still selling out arenas ALL over the world over 30 years later. In fact, they are SO crap that they are the biggest band to come out of Canada.

Cunt.

[Reverberator]

Listen .

Lifeson and Rush are ledgendary , you will all do well to remember that .

[Stillwell]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
Yea, they're so crap that they are still selling out arenas ALL over the world over 30 years later. In fact, they are SO crap that they are the biggest band to come out of Canada.

Cunt.

Yeah, being the biggest thing to come out of Canada is a real big feat.

Have you actually listened to Life-less's playing since, oh, 1980? Get the wax and cheese Doodles out of ya ears punk.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Yes, and it's fine.

[Soul Reaper]

I think Rush are pretty awesome.

Why did he get in a fight with the police? I've forgotten.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

It was something to do with being drunk, becoming overly excited (shall we say), then he wouldn't leave wherever he was, so they called the police, he wouldn't leave, assaulted an officer, resisted arrest. Something alsong those lines.

[Steve Savicki]

Some of the stuff post Polygram Records era was good.
I heard some stuff off "test for echo" which was pretty decent.

[Soul Reaper]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
It was something to do with being drunk, becoming overly excited (shall we say), then he wouldn't leave wherever he was, so they called the police, he wouldn't leave, assaulted an officer, resisted arrest. Something alsong those lines.

I heard that Alex Lifeson is usually as hellraising as Mr. Bean.

[Reverberator]

This is wank

[DLR'sCock]

Rush are fucking awesome....

[Full Bug]

Alex Van Halen wishes he was half the drummer that Neil Peart is....

[rustoffa]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
It was something to do with being drunk, becoming overly excited (shall we say), then he wouldn't leave wherever he was, so they called the police, he wouldn't leave, assaulted an officer, resisted arrest. Something alsong those lines.

If the pigs were wearing the old-school sheriff badges, wade through the irony.
:(

[academic punk]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
It was something to do with being drunk, becoming overly excited (shall we say), then he wouldn't leave wherever he was, so they called the police, he wouldn't leave, assaulted an officer, resisted arrest. Something alsong those lines.

The kind of stuff that you or I would spend three months in jail for. No biggie.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Originally posted by Soul Reaper
I heard that Alex Lifeson is usually as hellraising as Mr. Bean.

That is usaully the case, yes.

In fact, that goes for the whole band.

In in fact, I wouldn't even say they were AS hellraising as Mr. Bean.

[BigBadBrian]

More from Alex Lifeson...He's going to sue the cops.

In like a lion, out like a lamb. These words appeared in a Naples Daily News editorial on April 27, describing the outcome of the criminal charges against my family and myself. After fifteen months of living in fear and anxiety, and the enormous physical and emotional toll that it took from all of us, the prosecution’s case began to crumble as the truth emerged and witnesses came forward to expose the behavior of these Collier County Sheriff’s Deputies and certain employees of the Ritz Carlton, a resort hotel reputed to be one of the finest in the world.

As that part of this ordeal came to a close, I thought to myself that more than anything, I wanted to get my life back on track. I thought I could accept the fact that I was punched in the face so hard it ripped the cartilage from my nose, fracturing the bone and shattering my septum. I thought I could accept the incredibly painful nasal surgery and weeks of recovery, and the discomfort I feel every night when I go to sleep. I thought I could accept the fact that I was Tasered six times, twice while lying face down in a growing pool of my own blood, and so severely that it burned bloody holes in my back. I thought I could accept watching my son get electrocuted numerous times as well, and erase the memory of his screams of pain and terror. I thought I could accept being imprisoned for two days without a phone call for over fourteen hours. I thought I could accept the innuendo of those who don’t know me and believed I was just some spoiled, drunken rock star. I thought I could accept watching my daughter-in-law, through a crack in the prison door, as tears streamed down her face because she was unlawfully jailed and separated from her two months old son. I thought I could accept the deep depression my wife, the woman I love without measure and who shares my soul, struggled through for months, fearing for her husband and son…what was I thinking?

Out like a lamb. All of that for nothing. All because of the bitterness of a few Ritz Carlton hotel employees on the most festive night of the year and their incredibly discourteous, arrogant and aggressive behavior of which I had never experienced in thirty years of travel. All because of three confrontational, intimidating, enraged deputies who wouldn’t even consider dialogue, who were so quick to reach for their Tasers and handcuffs when no crime was committed. All because of a prosecutors’ office blind to the reality of instances of excessive force by police and the horrendous destruction of innocent lives forever changed…what were they thinking?

In like a lion. The legal action we are embarking on now will hopefully bring attention to the fact that people cannot and should not be treated this way. I was fortunate to have the resources and will to fight to the end, but there are many who don’t and they will forever suffer from the forced compromise of an unfair plea bargain or the threat of sentencing guidelines that demand imprisonment, that hang over one’s head like the sword of Damocles. If some good is to come of this, then let it be that the actions of a tiny minority of aggressive, Taser wielding police officers don’t tarnish the reputation of the vast majority of officers who proudly serve their communities with honor and sacrifice. I sincerely believe they deserve our utmost respect, but respect is something that must be earned and not demanded with a closed fist or an electrifying weapon…that’s what I’m thinking.