CONOR MCGREGOR’s trial over the alleged theft of a fan’s phone has begun in Florida.
The MMA fighter is facing two counts of robbery by sudden snatching and criminal mischief relating to damage of property valued somewhere between$200 and $1,000.
McGregor previously pleaded not-guilty to both counts at a hearing on April 10th.
If found guilty, the 30-year-could could face up to five years in prison with robbery classed as a third-degree felony.
Criminal mischief meanwhile, is classed as a misdemeanour and carries a one-year sentence.
McGregor is currently out on bail set at $5,000.
Despite the serious nature of the charges, McGregor’s lawyers, Samuel K, Rabin, of Rabin & Lopez, P. A, have indicated the case may not end up going to court.
They had hoped to conclude the matter by May 13th, the date of McGregor’s planned court appearance, but a number of witnesses have already been subpoenaed ahead of the hearing.
The Irishman was arrested at Miami Beach in Florida on March 11th after allegedly taking a fan’s phone and smashing it.
According to police, the alleged victim was trying to take a picture of McGregor outside a hotel when the incident occurred.
The MMA fighter is allegedly to have slapped the man’s phone out of his hand and stomped on it several times.
The incident comes just a few months after McGregor avoided similarly serious charges after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct at a UFC event in New York.
Those charges related to an incident from April 2018 that saw several people hurt after McGregor threw a trolley at a busy leaving Barclays Centre in Brooklyn.
Fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg were both injured by shattered glass in the attack and were left unable to compete.
McGregor avoided prison time after striking a deal with prosecutors which saw him do community service and undergo anger management counselling.
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