Emile Hirsch made his first appearance in a Utah court Monday for a January incident in which the actor allegedly putting a TV executive in chokehold at a nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival.
Hirsch made his initial appearance in front of Summit County Judge Kara Pettit and went to the county jail to take a
mug shot and get fingerprinted, Deadline.com reported. He is accused of choking Dani Bernfeld, the vice president of Paramount Digital Entertainment, at a party in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 25.
Hirsch, who entered rehab after the alleged assault, was at the Sundance Film Festival for the premiere of "Ten Thousand Saints," a drama in which he costars with Ethan Hawke.
Hirsch and Bernfeld were both at Tao nightclub early on Jan. 25 when the
confrontation happened, E! Online reported. According to court documents, the two exchanged words before Hirsch physically touched her.
"Hirsch came up from behind Bernfeld and wrapped his arm around her to put her in a chokehold,"
according to Summit County court documents. "Hirsch pulled Bernfeld across the table and onto the floor, where he landed on top of her. While Hirsch was on top of Bernfeld he wrapped his hands around her neck. Bernfeld said she felt as though the front and back of her throat were touching and she remembers things going dark. Bernfeld reported that she may have momentarily blacked out."
Two witnesses pulled Hirsch off Bernfeld and corroborated the story of the attack on the television executive.
Hirsch was charged in February with felony assault and intoxication, and he could face five years in prison and a
$5,000 fine, People magazine reported.
The star's attorney, Robert Offer, told Deadline.com at the time of the charges that Hirsch had checked into rehab.
"Emile consumed an enormous amount of alcohol on the evening in question and he has no memory of what happened," Offer said in a statement. "Emile takes these allegations very seriously, and is devastated that any of this has occurred. A few days after the incident, Emile sought help and checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation facility, where he remains today, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again."