Rod Stewart and his son Sean will avoid jail time and a potentially embarrassing trial that was set to start Tuesday for their role in a New Year's Eve fight at an upscale Palm Beach resort.
DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal that Sir Rod's legal team reached a deal with prosecutors this week where Stewart and son are expected to plead no contest to the charge of simple battery.
The father and son were charged with one misdemeanor count each after feisty 76-year-old Rod was caught on surveillance cameras at The Breakers Palm Beach throwing a punch at a security guard with Sean stepping into the tussle the night of December 31, 2019.
In exchange for their plea, the singer and his 40-year-old son escape a conviction, criminal record and time behind bars, said their attorney Guy Fronstin.
Rod Stewart, 76, and his son Sean, 40, will avoid jail time and a potentially embarrassing trial that was set to start Tuesday in Florida
The hotel's surveillance footage obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com last year showed Rod delivering a right hook to security guard Jessie Dixon, 35
Stewart appears to perform a Nazi salute (pictured left and right) with his right arm extended high above his head while he formed a moustache with his left hand
The trial scheduled for Tuesday was canceled, according to court papers.
Instead, Judge August Bonavita is expected to sign off on the deal on October 22 and close the case. Neither Stewart nor his son are mandated to appear.
'A resolution that's acceptable to all parties has been reached,' Fronstin said. 'It will result in no jail time for both my clients.'
Pictured is security guard Jesse Dixon, 34, who claimed that he was punched by Rod Stewart after he denied him access to a private event to which he was reportedly not invited
The Stewarts were facing the possibility of spending up to one year in Palm Beach County's jail.
That prospect, Fronstin said, would have provided no benefit to society.
'He's a first-time offender,' said Fronstin, 'It's just silly to send him to jail.'
Besides, Fronstin said, added security and other accommodations in his incarceration would have resulted in extra costs to the community.
Fronstin added probation for Stewart and his son, a period when they'd be mandated to stay out of trouble or sent to jail, could be a part of the deal but has yet to be negotiated.
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said: 'Our mission is to uphold the law, regardless of socio-economic or celebrity status. My prosecutors based their decisions in this case, as all other cases, solely on the facts and the law.'
Palm Beach County's justice system tends to be forgiving with offenders who were never convicted before.
Many benefit from a program called 'deferred prosecution,' where charges are dismissed if the accused follow probation-like conditions for six months.
The hotel's surveillance footage obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com last year showed Rod, clad in his trademark gold lame dinner jacket, delivering a lightning-fast right hook to security guard Jessie Dixon, 35, who first appeared to push Sean.
The footage shows the incident occurred seconds after the singer of Stay With Me and Tonight's The Night mocked the security guard who prevented access to the Stewart clan, including wife Penny Lancaster along with their two boys, 15-year-old Alastair and Aiden, 9, to an outdoor playground.
Stewart even performed what appeared to be a Hitler salute with his right arm extended above his head while fingers of his left hand made a Hitler-style moustache.
The father and son were arrested and briefly jailed.
The incident took place at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, Florida
In the video, Rod appeared to mock the security guard who prevented access to the Stewart clan, including wife Penny Lancaster (pictured) along with their two boys, 15-year-old Alastair and Aiden, 9
According to the surveillance video, the tussle took place during preparations for the final countdown to 2020.
The soundless footage shows Stewart's group stopped by an attendant as Rod penetrates the secured area and starts strutting as if he were on a concert stage.
The singer slips behind the attendant and acts like a gorilla about to grab her. Once she turns around, he just stands with hands in his pockets as if he'd done nothing.
According to the incident report filed with the court by Palm Beach Police, the singer and his family were loud and argumentative when the attendant told them they couldn't access the playground.
Dixon, in his black suit, arrives in view of the camera and both Rod and Sean as well as an unidentified male approach him.
At that point, the discussion seems friendly. Rod's hands are down or in his pockets as several children from his group start playing on the small playground. Rod even places his left hand on Dixon's shoulder, and Dixon doesn't appear to mind.
Rod, however, becomes more animated as Dixon stands on the decision not to let them in and points at the children on the playground as if to say they need to get out.
Rod then mimes what appears to be a Nazi salute, and things degenerate from there.
As Sean slides into Dixon's personal space then pushes Dixon backwards with both hands, Rod then throws a nasty right hook as Dixon steadies himself and walks towards Sean.
It's unclear from the footage whether the rocker's fist connected with Dixon body. The police report, however, has Dixon claiming the singer's fist struck him on the left side of the chest.
The police report shows Rod apologized before leaving.
The plea deal, meanwhile, became possible as Dixon's lawyer told DailyMail.com last month he reached an agreement with the Stewarts on compensation.
'The civil issue has been resolved – a full agreement has been made,' Dixon's lawyer Gawayne Kelly said. 'My client is going to sign the appropriate documentation to allow the prosecutor to enter whatever agreement they want to with Mr. Stewart.'
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