Bryshere Gray, the actor best known for his role as Hakeem Lyon on Fox’s Empire and his portrayal of Michael Bivins in BET’s The New Edition Story, has pled guilty to assaulting his wife, The Root has learned.
People magazine reports the actor has been sentenced to 10 days in an Arizona county jail after entering a guilty plea on the charge of aggravated assault back in February. Additionally, Gray will also serve a three-year probation sentence in which he’s not allowed to drink alcohol nor have any contact with the victim unless otherwise approved by the Adult Probation Department in Arizona. He must also take part in a domestic violence offender treatment program and pay restitution to his wife as well.
This sentencing stems from a July 2020 incident in which a woman who identified herself as his wife left their Goodyear, Ariz., home and called 911 to report an assault at the hands of Gray. She alleged that she had been strangled at one point and lost consciousness temporarily. Per a police report, she was treated and later released for her non-life-threatening injuries.
In a press release from the Goodyear Police Department, officers made their way back to the Grays’ home where they attempted to make contact with the actor, but he barricaded himself inside his home until he eventually surrendered without incident just before 7 a.m. on July 13, 2020.
Gray was arrested and booked into the Maricopa County jail on assault, aggravated assault and disorderly conduct charges at the time. According to court documents obtained by People, additional charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon were ultimately dropped in his plea agreement.