Three members of a family who were caught on video in a chaotic brawl at California's Disneyland earlier this month are facing criminal charges, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Avery Robinson, 35, his sister, Andrea Robinson, 40, and her husband, Daman Petrie, 44, are charged in connection with the fight, which broke out in the middle of Disneyland's Toontown as children were around, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced.
A bystander's video of the fight, which went viral after it was posted on YouTube, showed a man spit on a woman and hit her in the face. He later pulled her hair. Then, another man and woman got involved and more punches were thrown.
At one point, children were heard crying in the background. At another point, an elderly woman who appears to be part of the group got up from an electric wheelchair and wound up falling to the ground in the midst of one of the scuffles between the two women.
Several park staff members, including security, arrived more than three minutes after the violence broke out. The family was uncooperative when police arrived and they were escorted from the park, the Anaheim Police Department said after the July 5 melee.
Avery Robinson is accused of attacking his sister, brother-in-law, and girlfriend during the fight, and later threatening to kill the couple by making a gun sign with his hand and pointing it at them. He is also accused of trying to hit a Disneyland employee with his car as he left the park, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
"During the fight inside the park Avery Robinson made several comments, including 'I’m ready to go to jail tonight' and referenced a Southern California gang," the statement from the office added.
Avery Robinson, from Las Vegas, is charged with five felony counts and nine misdemeanors, and faces up to seven years and four months in state prison if convicted. He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
Andrea Robinson is charged with four misdemeanor count of battery for assaulting Avery and a Disneyland employee. She is facing one count of misdemeanor assault for attacking her brother’s girlfriend.
Andrea Robinson, from Compton, faces up to two and a half years in jail if convicted.
Petrie, who is married to Andrea Robinson, is charged with one misdemeanor count of battery for allegedly punching Avery Robinson’s girlfriend in the face. He faces a maximum of six months in jail if convicted.
The district attorney's office said Disneyland guests attempted to intervene during the fight. At least one of the children in the group was picked up and moved away from the violence by a bystander, and another park guest placed Avery Robinson in a chokehold.
“The Orange County District Attorney’s Office does not tolerate domestic violence or child endangerment anywhere,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement Tuesday.
