Rock Can’t Perform For Community Service

Rock flamed Judge Alvin T. Wong, who presided over the singer’s infamous Waffle House trial, in a recent post on his Web site.

“Apparently he thinks it’s more important that I do something else rather than sing, shake hands, take pictures and spend time with the men and women who put themselves in harms (sic) way to protect the very freedom he and all of us live by,” Rock wrote.

However, Wong explained in his decision that “the defendant has made this trip in the past and would do so even if he was not under a sentence to perform community service. Besides, giving him credit for something he would otherwise love to do in front of a camera completely defeats the punitive purpose of performing community service.”

Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, was given the community service hours, a year’s probation and a $1,000 fine earlier this year for his role in a fight at a suburban Atlanta Waffle House last fall.

The singer’s tour bus stopped at the Waffle House following a performance Oct. 21. An exchange of words with a customer escalated into a fight that spilled from the restaurant into the parking lot. Rock and five members of his entourage were arrested.

Rock said he takes responsibility for his actions, but still wishes the judge would have granted his request.

“I really take it as a slap in the face, and really have trouble thinking of a better way to ‘serve the community,’ especially at Christmas time when it’s obviously the hardest time for soldiers to be away from their families and home,” he wrote.