'Collide' Singer Howie Day Arrested for Assaulting Ex-Girlfriend in New York City: Report
Musician Howie Day was reportedly arrested over the weekend for assaulting a woman in a Manhattan hotel.
According to reports in TMZ and the New York Post‘s Page Six, the 38-year-old “Collide” singer began arguing with the woman, identified as his ex-girlfriend, on Friday afternoon. The disagreement apparently became heated, and law enforcement officials say Day allegedly then grabbed her, threw her around the room, and wrapped his hands around her throat.
Police were summoned to the hotel in the Financial District, where they reportedly found eight Xanax in his pocket. According to Page Six, he told arresting officers that he was “going through Xanax withdrawal” and was “going to pass out” as he was being taken into custody.
Day, who is currently on tour, was arraigned on Saturday in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of criminal obstruction of breathing, assault, and criminal possession of a controlled substance. He reportedly did not enter a plea and is currently free on $500 bail bond. A manager for Day did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
His alleged victim reportedly sought medical attention and was granted an order of protection against Day.
This is not his first legal run-in. The musician was arrested in 2005 at Logan International Airport in Boston for rowdy behavior on a flight after he allegedly became intoxicated from a mix of alcohol and a sleeping pill, according to the Associated Press.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge of interfering with a flight crew.
“He was verbally abusive to the flight crew and was kicking the backs of seats of passengers in front of him,” said David Procopio, a spokesman for the Suffolk District Attorney’s office.
A year before, in March 2004, Day was arrested in Wisconsin for allegedly locking a woman in the bathroom of a tour bus after she refused his sexual advances. According to a criminal complaint obtained by the AP, Day broke the cell phone of another woman who tried to call the police.
Then, in April 2018, he was arrested and charged with one count of fourth-degree assault for allegedly pushing his then-girlfriend, who reportedly is not the same woman involved in the most recent incident.
According to a police report obtained by PEOPLE the following month, surveillance video at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport shows Day slamming his guitar case onto the sidewalk while waiting for his girlfriend of eight years, Carrie Pencek, to pick him up.
During the incident, Day also caused damage by slamming the trunk of a Toyota RAV4 vehicle. Pencek allegedly told authorities that he started screaming at her and pushed her when she got out of the car to help with his luggage, according to the report, which also stated that Pencek claimed the push caused physical pain to her.
Day pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the outcome of the case is unknown at this time.
