Judge Orders Bam Margera To Stand Trial For Allegedly Assaulting His Brother in April

A West Chester, PA, judge ruled that Bam Margera must stand trial for allegedly assaulting his brother, Jess Margera, the Associated Press reports.

AP reports the MTV star is facing misdemeanor charges, which include simple assault, harassment, and making terroristic threats after he allegedly assaulted his brother in April and made several death threats against their family members during the incident. Two of the four counts of terroristic threats were dropped during Thursday’s (July 27) hearing, however.

Judge Albert Iacocca also ordered that Margera undergo drug and alcohol screening to remain out of prison, since he has been out on bail.

“We want to make sure you’re safe, secure and alive,” he told Bam during the hearing.

According to Jess’s testimony, Bam struck him in the nose and ear, which ruptured his ear drum, during a “frightening and unpredictable” visit home last April. He claimed the incident began after Bam came across a text message that suggested he needed to get help for his mental health.

“I’m not trying to get him in trouble here. I just want him to get the help because I feel like this is our last chance,” Jess said.

Bam’s attorney, Michael van der Veen, described the incident as “a disagreement between two brothers on a Sunday morning over coffee.”

He also claimed that the brothers regularly did things like this for the cameras, likely referring to the MTV reality show Viva la Bam, in which Bam and his friends regularly performed stunts around their family home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. But the claim was rejected because there were no cameras rolling at the time.

During the hearing, Margera claimed he attended a treatment program in Los Angeles this year and has been living with Lamar Odom. Odom helped get him into a detox program, though later reports claimed he left the program early with plans to go to Las Vegas, instead.

He told Judge Iacocca that he was motivated to get treatment so he could see his five-year-old son, Phoenix.

The reality star has been going through a public custody battle with his estranged wife Nicole Boyd, who he recently adressed in a social media video in which he threatened to “smoke crack” until he died unless she let him see Phoenix.

AP reports “both sides” of the hearing “seemed most interested in ensuring that he remains in treatment.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.