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Enrique Iglesias Arrested For Failed Switch, Singer Returns To Stage Before Court Date

By Regina Avalos
Published on: 00:21 PST, Jul 2, 2015

Enrique Iglesias was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol for a driving incident in Miami earlier this summer, and news of that arrest is now making headlines.

Police arrested Enrique Iglesias and charged him with obstruction of justice after he tried to pull a fast one on them on May 6, according to Us Magazine. The singer and his manager, Abel Tabuyo, were driving on a closed express lane when the police stopped them.

Before the police arrived at the car, Enrique tried to change places with his manager because his license is currently suspended. A Florida Highway Patrol report claimed that the singer “jumped from inside the driver’s seat into the rear passenger seat while his male passenger jumped from the front passenger seat onto the driver’s seat.”

Cops at the scene caught the switch, and Iglesias and his manager were charged with obstruction of justice. Both men plead not guilty on the misdemeanor charge, and they will head to court on July 10 in Miami-Dade county. Iglesias was also charged for driving with a suspended license. It is also a misdemeanor charge.

Iglesias has been in the news a lot this summer. An incident at a Tijuana, Mexico concert injured his hand on May 31. During the performance, Enrique reached up for a drone carrying a camera because he wanted to show the audience his view from the stage.

However, the drone blades sliced his middle finger and caused a fracture. The injury did not stop Inglesia’s performance. He stayed on stage and performed with his bloody hand until the end. After the concert, he was flown to Los Angeles.

Iglesias had to undergo surgery to repair the damage done by the drone, and the damage was initially worse than expected, according to the Guardian. A statement was released to the singer’s website in June about the injury and his recovery time.

“His recent surgery lasted longer than expected since the damage ended up being a bit worse than initially assessed. He suffered a fracture that needed to be corrected in addition to the reconstructive surgery. He will be recovering during the next few weeks but a full recovery is anticipated.”

That full recovery was anticipated, but there might be permanent damage to the singer’s hand though. According to Billboard, an insider close to the singer revealed, “He will need minor rehab once his finger and skin graft have healed. Only time will tell if sensitivity on that tip of the finger will come back and at what percentage.”

Tom Hallman, president of PictorVision, the company behind the drone, did speak with the media after the incident at the Enrique Iglesias concert. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he was concerned “it was the end” for his company. PictorVision is one of the companies licensed by the FAA to fly drones in the United States.

However, it appears that Enrique and his crew are at fault for the incident. A member of the singer’s crew was piloting the drone during the performance.

“It’s a major concern. We are fully aware that when we say no [to a job that doesn’t meet safety parameters], it’s [often] still happening. We hear of crashes — not serious, but it’s going to happen. Logic dictates this. People can make bad choices. If it landed in the audience, it could have been a lot worse. We wouldn’t fly over a crowd. We can’t fly over crowds [per FAA restrictions].”

Enrique was originally scheduled to return to the concert stage with a show on July 3, but he decided to return to the stage with a free concert in Oklahoma. The singer announced his performance on Twitter, and he performed on stage for 15,000 troops and their families on June 27, according to a Billboard report.

Enrique is currently on tour in support of his Sex & Love album. He hit the road in 2014, and his next three concert dates will be in Mexico City.

Iglesias is not letting the injury or his recent legal troubles stop him. The singer shared two posts on his Twitter recently that showed his fans that he is not giving up. One of the posts is from his recent performance, and he is shown punching at a drone on stage.

What do you think of Enrique Iglesias’ legal troubles? Have you seen the singer perform on stage?

[Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images]

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