Diamond Reynolds pleads not guilty in assault case, will make national TV appearances

Diamond Reynolds, who garnered worldwide attention when she livestreamed the aftermath of her boyfriend's shooting by a police officer last year, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in an unrelated assault case and informed the court that she expects to travel the country next month for TV appearances, along with a possible August trip to London for an art exhibit created in her honor.

The information was disclosed through her attorneys, Mike Padden and Karlowba Adams Powell, during a hearing in Ramsey County District Court. Reynolds is charged with second- and third-degree assault for allegedly taking part in a hammer attack on a woman in February.

However, a representative working with the London art gallery said Friday that the trip had not been finalized, no dates had been set and that they were still "discussing" the matter.

Adams Powell said after the hearing Wednesday that Reynolds, 27, would be traveling to New York and San Francisco in July for "several upcoming ventures," including TV appearances where she'll talk about the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, Philando Castile. St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted at trial earlier this month for killing Castile during a routine traffic stop in Falcon Heights on July 6.

Adams Powell said one of Reynolds' TV commitments is with NBC. Reynolds declined to comment after her hearing.

Reynolds was doing "about as good as could be expected," Adams Powell said of her client's well-being in the wake of the verdict and last week's release of dramatic dashcam footage and other evidence in the case. "She's taking it day by day."

Adams Powell said Reynolds and her daughter, 5, will travel to London for a week starting Aug. 12 on an all-expenses-paid trip to celebrate artist Luke Willis Thompson's portrait of Reynolds. The portrait is on view at the Chisenhale Gallery in London.

"In November 2016, with the assistance of Chisenhale Gallery, Thompson established a conversation with Reynolds, and her lawyer, and invited Reynolds to work with him on the production of an artwork," according to the Chisenhale Gallery's website. "The final work was produced in April 2017. It is a silent portrait of Reynolds shot on 35mm, black and white film and will be presented in the gallery as a single screen work."

Padden filed a motion Wednesday to dismiss the charges, or, alternatively, to amend the criminal complaint. He said he would also file motions to address other evidentiary issues.

According to Padden: Cellphone data collected by St. Paul police show that Reynolds was 5 miles from the alleged assault scene at the time. Allegations that a hammer was used in the attack don't match up with a defense expert's assessment that the alleged victim's injuries are consistent with damage caused by a fingernail, and police returned the alleged victim's vehicle to her instead of preserving evidence inside the car.

"The notion that a hammer was used is complete nonsense," Padden said.

According to the complaint: Reynolds and Chnika Blair, 18, confronted the victim on Feb. 28 in a parking lot in the 1500 block of Jessamine Lane. The two women "jumped" the victim, with Reynolds allegedly wielding a hammer.

Richardson was apparently upset with the victim's friend, who had previously picked a fight with Richardson. Reynolds alleged that the same friend had damaged Reynolds' vehicle, the charges said.

Blair is also charged in the case. Richardson pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for her role and is set to be sentenced in August.

Reynolds has a pretrial scheduled in the case for Aug. 4 and a trial set for Aug. 28.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708