Bryshere Gray, who played Hakeem in the Fox drama Empire, He was arrested near Phoenix today after his wife told police that he assaulted her for hours and knocked her unconscious at home on Sunday night.
Local police said the actor was arrested early Monday morning outside his home in suburban Goodyear, AZ. Officials said Gray initially refused to leave the house, so a SWAT team and crisis negotiations were called to help.
He was detained without incident shortly after 7 a.m., and was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on charges of domestic violence.
Goodyear police said they responded to a 911 call made around 10:15 p.m. Sunday. The caller said that an adult woman allegedly told her that she had been assaulted by her husband at home. She named Gray a suspect and identified herself as his wife.
In a press release, police said the woman had pointed to a passerby at a local service station and told the driver that she had been assaulted for several hours. Police said she was clearly injured and told them that her husband had strangled her to the point that she lost consciousness. The woman was treated for non-fatal injuries at a local hospital and then released.
Gray appeared in all 102 episodes of Empire, who ended his six-year career at Fox in April. He co-starred as Hakeem Lyon, a rising rapper obsessed with fame and the youngest son of Lucious and Cookie Lyon (Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson). He earned BET, Image, and Teen Choice nominations for the role.
Her credits also include independent features. Sprinter, Canal Street and Honey: Get up and dance.
