Isaiah Lee Charged with Attempted Murder After Stabbing Roommate

The man who attacked comedian Dave Chappelle at The Hollywood Bowl several weeks ago has been charged with attempted murder in an unrelated earlier incident prior to his assault on Chappelle.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Isaiah Lee, who was arrested after rushing on stage to strike Chappelle earlier this month in Los Angeles, was charged with attempted murder after an altercation with his roommate.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced on Thursday that his office has filed an attempted murder charge against Lee for allegedly stabbing his roommate in December. Earlier this month, the District Attorney’s Office referred the misdemeanor assault case that involved Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

Gascon stated that all the publicity around the assault against the popular comedian led to assisting police officers in solving the attempted murder case against Lee.

“The publicity generated by the attack on Mr. Chappelle helped police solve this crime,” said District Attorney Gascón in a written statement. “The incident that occurred at the Hollywood Bowl was misdemeanor conduct and rightfully referred to the City Attorney’s Office. Based on the nature and severity of the December attack, Mr. Lee is now facing felony charges which my office will prosecute.”

The suspect has pleaded not guilty to the charge and is slated to return to court on June 2 in Department 32 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Lee has been charged with stabbing his roommate during a fight on December 2 at a transitional housing apartment.

Footage circulated on social media showed Lee charging onto the stage and tackling Chappelle as he was performing. The comedian was immediately dragged off by security, the videos showed.

That onstage altercation came a month after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars, for which he was banned from the event for 10 years. According to an ABC report, Rock, who performed earlier in the night, came on stage with Chappelle moments after the attack and joked: “Was that Will Smith?”