Cuba Gooding Jr. may not surrender to police over groping charge after lawyer views bar's surveillance video
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr.'s lawyer Mark Heller has said that he has viewed the surveillance video from the bar where the actor was accused of groping a woman and said that it shows "absolutely no criminality taking place on the part of my client". Heller said that he has contacted the Manhattan D.A.'s Office Sex Crimes Unit but has not received a return phone call yet. He is trying to find out, apparently, if they have seen the surveillance video.
Heller told TMZ that he couldn't believe that they would look to arrest his client if they had not seen the video. The lawyer says it is still up in the air at the moment as to whether Gooding will surrender to the authorities on Thursday, June 13, as they had planned, now that they have seen the video.
Gooding, the Oscar-winning star of "Jerry Maguire" is expected to face a charge stemming from an alleged incident over the weekend at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge.
A 29-year-old woman told the authorities that Gooding grabbed her breast while he was intoxicated around 11:15 p.m. Sunday. Gooding, 51, denies the allegations. He told TMZ that he was at the bar partying with friends but didn't touch anyone. He said there's a video that shows "what really happened". "I trust the system and will let the process speak for itself," Gooding said.
He was supposed to surrender to the NYPD special victims unit that's leading the investigation before going to court for an arraignment, Heller said. The lawyer expected Gooding to make a statement to the media before getting booked but this was before they saw a surveillance video that allegedly proves Gooding did nothing wrong.
A video posted on social media shows Gooding at Magic Hour on Sunday night singing the Journey hit "Faithfully" and posing for pictures with fans. The bar, on the roof of the Moxy Hotel south of Times Square, features a mini-golf course and sweeping views of the Empire State Building and other Big Apple landmarks.
Gooding, a Bronx native, rose to fame after starring in "Boyz N the Hood" in 1991. Six years later, he won an Oscar for his role as a professional football player in "Jerry Maguire." His signature line, "Show me the money," became a popular catchphrase. Gooding was nominated for an Emmy Award last year for playing O.J. Simpson in the FX series "The People v. O.J. Simpson" and recently appeared on Broadway and London's West End as lawyer Billy Flynn in "Chicago."
With AP inputs.