Man Pleads Not Guilty to Assaulting “Stargate Atlantis” Actor

LOS ANGELES -- A Venice man who allegedly smashed a pint beer glass in the face of an actor from the TV show "Stargate Atlantis" pleaded not guilty Wednesday to assault with a deadly weapon.

Dominic Bando, 21, is accused of getting into a fight Nov. 15 with Jason Momoa at the Bird Cafe on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood and hitting him in the face with the beer glass, which shattered.

Momoa got about 140 stitches during reconstructive surgery, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Bando suffered four injuries to his hand and got 15 stitches, according to his attorney, James Blatt.

"In every bar fight, there's a minimum of two or three explanations about the events, and this is no exception," Blatt said outside court today.

Bando's attorney said he was trying to find out if any of the fight was caught on surveillance video.

Bando was freed on bail after his arrest, but Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Kristi Lousteau ordered him taken into custody Wednesday morning and held without bail in a firearm case from the city of San Fernando in which he was on probation.

Bando is due back in court in the downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 22, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.

If convicted of the felony, Bando faces up to seven years in state prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Momoa, 29, started out as a model in Hawaii. He and actress Lisa Bonet have a daughter together and, in October, Bonet confirmed she was pregnant with a second child by Momoa.

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