McGraw, Chesney: Pardon Us

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/04/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

A lawyer for country singers Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney will request that all charges stemming from a skirmish last June with sheriff's deputies in Buffalo, N.Y., be dropped, reports the Associated Press. Lawyer Thomas Eoannou is set to claim that there was insufficient reason to charge the performers, who were booked after they appeared in the George Strait Country Music Festival in upstate New York in June. Chesney was booked on charges of disorderly conduct after he allegedly refused orders to get off a police horse. He faces a misdemeanor charge of riding the animal without permission, a misdemeanor. McGraw's charges are more serious. It is alleged that he grabbed a law enforcement officer by the neck as deputies were allegedly scuffling with Chesney. If convicted, McGraw, charged with obstructing governmental administration, menacing and harassment, assault and resisting arrest, could face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. A judge is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on Feb 8.