Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Peter Thomas was found not guilty of second-degree assault in Baltimore Circuit Court on Wednesday after he was accused of assaulting a customer at his Bar One Baltimore restaurant.
It took the Elijah E. Cummings courthouse jury, which includes the 62-year-old reality TV personality, to find him not guilty on the allegations in less than an hour, according to The Baltimore Banner.
“I think the jury reached the right verdict,” Thomas’ lawyer told the newspaper, adding that he and his client were “very pleased” with the outcome.
He said of Thomas, who was formerly married to Cynthia Bailey, 56, “This man is 62, has lived an excellent life and built a successful business.”
In the case, according to the publication, 30-year-old Baltimore County native Chanel Williams said Thomas appeared intoxicated when he approached her and two friends at the restaurant on March 20, 2022.
The Latest: Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Peter Thomas, 62, was found not guilty of second-degree assault in Baltimore Circuit Court on Wednesday after being accused of assaulting a guest at his Bar One Baltimore restaurant
Williams claimed in court that later that evening Thomas cursed her without provocation, grabbing her neck and squeezing for 20 seconds.
According to the newspaper, Williams quickly left the courtroom after the sentencing.
In his statement, Thomas said he never put his hands on Williams’ neck and called the allegations “ridiculous.”
Thomas told the court that Williams made a scene at his establishment by blocking her friend’s number, and in an attempt to “calm her down” she fell into a lounge chair in the VIP area of the establishment.
Thomas took to Instagram with a post Wednesday as he left the courthouse with the caption, “Though I walk through death valley I shall fear no evil.”
“Hey guys, I just walked out of the courthouse where … the verdict came back that 12 out of 12 jurors were not guilty,” he said. “Come on for me, but I tell you I’m protected… it’s things like that that make me stronger; i am protected Have a good day.’
Thomas took to the social media site later on Wednesday to dismiss claims from Real Housewives of the Potomac star Mia Thornton that he was having an affair with Wendy Osefo.
Addressing the claims made during the show’s seventh season reunion, Thomas has threatened possible legal action against Bravo if his name continues to appear in the show’s storylines.
Thomas took to Instagram with a post Wednesday as he left the courthouse with the caption, “Though I walk through death valley I shall fear no evil.”
The reality TV personality said in a social media clip, “Hey guys, just walked out of the courthouse where… the verdict came back, 12 out of 12 jurors not guilty.”
Thomas added: “Come on for me, but I’ll tell you I’m protected… stuff like that makes me stronger; i am protected Have a good day’
He captioned the clip: “With all this shit I’m going through then here comes this BULL**** @bravoandy @bravotv stop using me for your rating please check the facts before you broadcasts these episodes.’
In the clip, Peter detailed the scenario and said the network took liberties with the footage they shot at his Bar One facility.
“Mia fucks Wendy and Bravo, it’s kind of your fault because I did five minutes of commercials for Bar One Baltimore and Bar One Miami Beach with you – and you made nine episodes out of those five minutes – and now my name gets thrown around on the reunion show, while in real life I don’t mess with any of those women,” he said.
He said he once filmed scenes with Osefo for five minutes and never went out to eat with her.
“I didn’t have a late-night snack with her,” he said. “She’s a married woman, she’s very respectful, very honorable. For Mia, for you, talking about me and Wendy getting together is so disrespectful, it’s so thirsty, it’s so thirsty that you’re doing this just to collect that check from Bravo.
Thomas continued, “There’s nothing cool about that. You can’t just use my name like that because if you use my name like that I’ll ask my lawyer to get in touch with you and it’s going to get really ugly because I don’t know any of these women , I’ve never had them outside seen my facility.’
He said the show’s backlash was affecting his business for the worse.
“You guys just can’t be frivolously throwing out people’s names because it’s actually hurt my business,” he said. “And that’s irresponsible. Please stop and refrain.’
Thomas took to Instagram on Wednesday to deny Real Housewives claims of Potomac star Mia Thornton, 38, that he was having an affair with Wendy Osefo
He said he once filmed scenes with Osefo for five minutes and never went out to eat with her
Peter said: “I didn’t have a late night snack with her. She is a married woman, she is very respectful, very honorable.
In the reunion special, Thornton responded to an incident where she threw a drink in Osefo’s face, saying that Osefo’s true anger was rooted in the affair with Thomas, which Osefo denied.
“Want to talk about the real story of how you shagged Peter and are so upset about it?” Thornton said. “Do you want to talk about it? I have my little receipt that you gave Peter the biscuit so you could get a restaurant at Bar One?
“Do you want to talk about it? She had dinner with him before filming and they had a whole starter and I’ve heard all about it, it was after hours at Bar One. I saw the cameras.’
Following the clip of Thomas, her husband Gordon Thornton, 68, took to Instagram with a clip in which he defended himself against claims by Thomas that he was not particularly close to him and his family.
Gordon said that Thomas, whom he considered his friend, was close to him and his family despite a series of events, although he now distanced himself from them.
“I wonder if he didn’t know us like he did when he was at home,” Gordon said.
He added that they spent time together playing cards, hanging out with friends and family, and going on boat trips.
Gordon noted that he and his family had eaten at Thomas’s restaurant many times and that he once asked him for a $60,000 loan to help him with the business.
“I don’t know why Peter says he doesn’t know us like that – maybe that’s his definition of not knowing us like that,” he said.
Gordon said a mutual contact told him the publicity was helping Peter’s business and that there was not enough time to determine the impact as the allegations only emerged a few days ago.
“Peter, I guess we don’t know you like that,” he said.
In the reunion special, Mia Thornton (pictured in 2022) was reacting to an incident in which she threw a drink in Osefo’s face
Mia said Osefo’s real anger was rooted in the affair with Thomas, which Osefo (pictured in 2022) denied
Following the clip of Thomas, her husband Gordon Thornton, 68, took to Instagram with a clip in which he defended himself against claims by Thomas that he was not particularly close to him and his family
Gordon said that Thomas, whom he considered his friend, was close to him and his family despite a series of events, although he now distanced himself from them