Court date set for ‘Buffy’ actor charged with domestic violence

Actor Nicholas Brendon, best known for his work on TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” was scheduled for an arraignment today on suspicion of one felony count of domestic violence, stemming from an alleged
attack on his girlfriend at a Palm Springs hotel.

Brendon, 48, was with his girlfriend in the bar of a hotel in the 1800 block of East Palm Canyon Drive on Oct. 17, 2017, when the pair got into an argument and he allegedly pulled her arm and “violently” pulled her by her hair, Palm Springs police Sgt. William Hutchinson said.

On May 6, Brendon was charged with one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse stemming from the alleged attack, according to Riverside County District Attorney’s Office spokesman John Hall. The arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday.

If convicted, Brendon could face up to four years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, the alleged attack resulted in “a traumatic condition upon Jane Doe,” which began when Doe tried to leave the hotel’s bar after two beers while Brendon wanted to take shots of tequila.

“Doe stated she `knows how he gets’ when he drinks tequila, so she decided to leave the lobby bar and go to their room,” according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant released on April 30 of this year. “Doe stated when she got up to leave the lobby bar area Brendon grabbed her by
the hair.”

Doe claimed she was not hurt from what appeared to be common behavior by the victim’s own admission.

Further details of the domestic violence allegations also were revealed from the hotel’s front desk supervisor, Chloe McGee.

The supervisor claimed that although Doe did not fall to the ground when her hair was pulled, “her head was completely turned on its side as a result of Brendon pulling her hair,” according to the court documents. The pair then left the bar and went outside through a glass door, where the McGee
saw Brendon repeat the action again.

“Mcgee stated she could hear Doe scream `Quit pulling my hair,’ ” before being pushed to the ground.

Later on in the day while officers were interviewing Doe, she was escorted to the bathroom by the same supervisor who said that “she saw Doe run her hands through her hair and a substantial amount of Doe’s hair fell off her head and onto the floor.”

The details provided by McGee were confirmed by surveillance footage from the hotel, according to court documents.

Law enforcement were alerted to the suspected altercation by hotel employees, and Brendon was arrested at the scene on suspicion of felony domestic violence and violating an active protective order. The order, which Hutchinson said was issued in another state, allowed him to be near the woman,
but prohibited him from harassing, threatening, injuring or assaulting her, the sergeant said.

Brendon was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning and was released on $50,000 bail the following day, jail records show.

The alleged 2017 attack was not Brendon’s first brush with the law. He has prior arrests for grand theft, resisting arrest, battery against a peace officer and vandalism in Los Angeles, Boise, Idaho and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

According to his IMDB.com biography, he appeared twice on the “Dr. Phil” show to discuss his battle with alcoholism.

Brendon portrayed Xander Harris on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” during the entirety of its seven-season run, which ended in 2003, and as Kevin Lynch on “Criminal Minds” from 2007 to 2014.