R&B singer Mario, born Mario Dewar Barrett, was released from jail on a $50,000 bond. He’s now responding to his second-degree assault charge involving his mother through his official representative:
“This is an unfortunate incident between a loving son and a mother who continues to struggle with a devastating addiction. Anyone who has waged the battle to save loved ones from the forces of drugs knows the irrational behavior that almost always accompanies their actions. Despite the allegations, Mario remains committed to supporting his mother,” the representative said.
The representative also told the media that since Mario’s release on bail, “He has returned home and is working at getting his mother back into a treatment center for her recent relapse for drugs.”
Various reports claim that while the singer was in New York recording — no doubt trying to keep the cash flowing to pay for that apartment he and his mother share — Shawntia had relapsed back into her heroin habit and was using Mario’s debit card to purchase the substance (dealers are taking debit cards now?). When Mario reportedly returned home and discovered her shenanigans, he confronted her and she became enraged, sparking the shoving match between the two. She then called 911 on her “mental case” son. The incident occured in the early morning hours of Oct. 1.
If his rep’s account of how things went down is true, hopefully the singer will be able to avoid further prosecution. Dealing with an addict that you love is a very treacherous and slippery slope; they typically live in an alternate and irrational world.
