Two dudes accused of a brutal attack at the Dodgers stadium parking lot following a 2022 Elton John concert have been acquitted of battery and vandalism charges after a four-week jury trial. A jury on Thursday found Chad Reeves, 44, and Reese Hopkin, 40, not guilty of battery causing serious injury to Jaime and Lillian Grenfell, a married couple in their 60s. Hopkin was also found not guilty of vandalism related to a bystander’s cell phone that was broken during the incident. The pair were charged in 2023 after a video of the Nov. 17, 2022 incident went viral.
The prosecutors alleged that Hopkin and Reeves attacked the couple after a side mirror on the couple’s Chevy Tahoe struck Reeves as they were driving away from the first of three sold-out performances. Jaime Grenfell suffered serious injuries and was knocked unconscious by Hopkin. Prosecutors also alleged Hopkin grabbed the phone of a man recording the incident and threw it to the ground. At trial, defense lawyers said the video showed only a portion of the incident. Reeves’ attorney, Glen Jonas, argued the viral video was “edited,” and claimed that Jaime Grenfell “attacked’’ Reeves and a woman, but it was not shown in the video. They argued that Reeves came to the defense of Jessica Santi, after Grenfell initiated an altercation with her. In their narrative, the Grenfells’ SUV mirror struck Reeves and it led to yelling, and then Jaime Grenfell got out of the SUV and came toward Santi and struck Reeves first, according to court records.
Reeves and Hopkin were believed to have acted in self-defense, as argued by their attorneys Raffi Manuelian and Dilan Patel. The defense team presented evidence showing that Hopkin knocked out Jaime Grenfell with a punch to the face when the alleged victim tried to reengage in the conflict. Despite the allegations made by the prosecutors, the jury ultimately sided with the defense, finding both men not guilty of the charges brought against them. The incident, which caused a stir on social media and led to a lawsuit filed by the Grenfells against Reeves, Hopkin, and the Dodgers, highlighted the importance of context in such cases. The verdict served as a vindication for the accused, shedding light on the complexities of legal proceedings and the impact of public opinion on high-profile cases.
