A Palos Verdes man who was with Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter when the two got into a bar fight in Florida earlier this year has been charged in last fall's Dodger Stadium beating that left a man with serious head injuries, prosecutors said.
A felony assault charge was filed Thursday against 27-year-old Michael Rae Papayans, who along with his mother, is accused of beating a 50-year-old man after a Dodgers-New York Mets playoffs game on Oct. 9, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Papayans was arrested on Feb. 11 and freed on $30,000 bond the next day, according to Los Angeles County inmate records.
Prosecutors said Papayans's mother had gotten into a dispute with a group of four people, one of whom was wearing Mets gear, as the group was walking to their car in Parking Lot L after the game. Papayans got involved and allegedly punched the victim in the head, knocking him to the ground unconscious.
Papayans' mother continued the attack by kicking the man in his back as he lay with serious head injuries from hitting his head on the pavement, prosecutors said.
The attack led to an investigation by the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide division.
Prosecutors will ask that Papayans be held on $60,000 bail when he's arraigned on March 11. If convicted, prosecutors said he faces up to seven years in prison. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
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Prosecutors referred the mother's case to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office for misdemeanor filing consideration.
Papayans was with Carter at the Hog's Breath Saloon in Key West in January, when police said in a report that he became agitated and aggressive. Both men were asked to leave. Papayans allegedly head-butted an employee.
Moments later, Carter grabbed a bouncer by the throat.
Papayans was held on suspicion of misdemeanor battery, as was Carter.
The stadium assault came about five years after a violent confrontation in a Dodger Stadium parking lot that left a San Francisco Giants fan in a coma. Bryan Stow, who suffered severe injuries after the Opening Day game, won an $18 million judgment against former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt over security issues in the parking lot after games.
