The first pretrial hearing of the case between Gracie Barra North American Executive Director Flavio Almeida and Ralph Gracie concluded last Monday. According to a source within Gracie Barra present at the hearing, Gracie rejected an offer made by assistant Orange County district attorney Matthew Plunkett, and the case will move to a second pretrial before going to trial.
The deal would have given Gracie a sentence of six months in the Orange County jail, three years of probation, and a felony charge that would translate to a strike under California’s three-strike law. Also mentioned was some form of required anger management training, but the details were kept vague.
Gracie made headlines worldwide when he and black belt Lincoln Pereira were caught on video attacking Almeida at the 2018 IBJJF World No-Gi Championships. The two men allegedly attacked Almeida over a situation involving territories and the placement of a new GB gym. The subsequent lawsuit from Almeida charged Gracie with felony assault with intent to produce great bodily injury.
In addition, Renzo Gracie himself was in attendance at the hearing in support of Ralph. The BJJ icon has defended Ralph in the past after his public dispute with Gracie Barra and Almeida.
According to our source in GB, Ralph will have another chance to accept a deal at the next hearing this January. Should an agreement not be reached, the case will go to trial.
Upon reaching out to GB management for an official statement, Head of School Development for Gracie Barra North America Dave Weber told us the following:
“Although I can’t comment deeply during an ongoing legal matter, I can say the Gracie Barra Organization is pleased that the Orange County District Attorney is seeking justice for this terrible incident. We’re hopeful this will help to eradicate this type of behavior within our martial art and sport.”
The Jiu-Jitsu Times will continue to provide updates to this story as they become available.
