POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – The case surrounding rapper Kevin Gates unfolded before a jury in a Polk County courtroom Wednesday. A jury of six women convicted the rapper after a day of testimony, finding him guilty of battery after he was seen kicking a female fan during a concert in Lakeland in a video that went viral. The trial lasted one day. 
 
 The judge sentenced Gates to 180 days in the Polk County Jail, with credit for any time served, and fines and court costs. 
 
 In a previous hearing Gates attempted to have the charges dropped using the Stand Your Ground defense. He admitted he kicked a female fan after she reached out and grabbed his pants several times at Rumor’s Nite Club in Lakeland.Lakeland Police charged Gates with simple battery in September 2015. 
 
 In a previous court hearing Gates testified, “I kicked them, I wanted them off me,” he said, adding that after the girl grabbed him so many times, he kicked her in self-defense. 
 
 During the trial Joe Hailey, head of security at Rumors Nightclub, testified. He said there were around 20 security guards working the night of the concert. He said the rapper’s security team inspected the club before the concert and did not make any special requests for additional security, or a barricade between the stage and the crowd. He also said there was room on the stage for Gates to back up if he did not want to be touched. 
 
 The girl’s mom, Kristy Irelan, spoke to News Channel 8 shortly after the incident. She said her 18-year-old daughter, Miranda Dixon, admitted herself to the hospital and had to undergo a CT scan after she was kicked. 
 
 “She told me that she was excited to see him and next thing she knows she was kicked in the chest and she was passed out,” Irelan told News Channel 8. 
 
 Dixon admitted to tugging on his pants during the concert saying, “I was trying to get his attention for my friend.” 
 
 During the trial Dixon’s friend Termeral Redding testified. She was with Dixon at the concert that night. 
 
 Redding admitted she told Dixon to grab Gates to get his attention “because he is a famous rapper.” Redding said the entire front row was grabbing at Gates. She also testified that when Dixon grabbed the rapper the first time, he kept performing. She said the second time Dixon grabbed him, he “ran and kicked her with force, and her friend fell back into her.” At that point she said she went to get help for her friend. 
 
 Well-known defense attorney Jose Baez cross-examined Redding about how serious Dixon was hurt. He broguht up that after Dixon left the club, Redding stayed for the remainder of the show. “You continued to videotape the concert after your friend left,” Baez said. 
 
 Thousands of people signed a petition aimed at banning Gates from Florida venues. 
 
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 updates on the day’s top stories Privacy Policy | Manage Newsletters ||||| - Rapper Kevin Gates was sentenced to 180 days in a Polk County jail after being found guilty of kicking a fan at a concert last year in Lakeland. 
 
 The judge also ordered a one year probation after Gates' jail time. The sentence was three times what prosecutors requested. 
 
 Cell phone video captured the moment Gates kicked the woman - which happened August 29, 2015 at Rumors nightclub. He was charged with an found guilty of battery for kicking the victim, 19-year-old Miranda Dixon. She testified in court Wednesday. 
 
 "He lifted his foot up and kicked me," said Dixon. 
 
 Jurors also heard Gates's testimony in his own defense Wednesday. Gates was represented by Jose Baez, who famously defended Casey Anthony after her young daughter's death. 
 
 Baez argued Gates was battered by Dixon before he kicked her. 
 
 Dixon testified she reached out and touched Gates' shorts on two occasions. After the second time, Dixon says Gates kicked her so hard that she fell back and later blacked out. She also complained of pain in her upper stomach for a month after the incident. 
 
 Baez argued Gates' foot didn't make contact with Dixon at all, and that Dixon was lying in order to gain damages in a separate civil suit against Gates. 
 
 "Her credibility is to be questioned and you will not be able to beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt in this case believe her and that is why you should enter a verdict of not guilty in this case," said Baez. 
 
 The jury was made up of six white women, who decided to convict Gates after two hours of deliberation, which included re-watching the video of Gates kicking Dixon, but being denied by the judge testimony records regarding whether Gates testified that he did kick Dixon. The judge told the jurors they would have to rely on their memories. ||||| Kevin Gates has been sentenced to 180 days in jail after a jury found him guilty of misdemeanor battery on Wednesday. 
 
 The charges stemmed from an August 2015 incident, in which the 30-year-old rapper was filmed kicking a woman in the chest during his concert in Lakeland, Florida. Prior to this week’s verdict, Gates insisted he was innocent and was simply defending himself under Florida's infamous "Stand Your Ground" law. He claimed the victim, Miranda Dixon, was trying to pull him off stage by repeatedly grabbing his shorts from the crowd. Gates said that Dixon wouldn’t heed his verbal warning, so he used “necessary force” to ensure he wouldn’t be harmed. 
 
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 Jose Baez, who also represented Casey Anthony, defended Gates during the trial. According to Fox 13 News, the attorney echoed Gates’ claims, stating his client’s alleged kick was in response to Dixon’s battery. Baez also argued that Gates' foot didn’t actually touch Dixon, and that she was simply attempting to gain damages in an upcoming civil trial. 
 
 “Her credibility is to be questioned and you will not be able to beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt in this case believe her and that is why you should enter a verdict of not guilty in this case," Baez said. 
 
 The jury, made up of six white women, ultimately found Gates guilty. The state reportedly requested 60 days in jail, with one year of probation, and mandatory anger management classes; however, the judge tripled that sentence with credit for any time served, as well as fines and court costs. 
 
 Stay tuned as more information comes in.
– A Louisiana rapper was sentenced to six months in jail Wednesday for kicking a female fan during a concert last year in Florida, WFLA reports. A video of the incident went viral. Kevin Gates admitted he kicked the woman—19-year-old Miranda Dixon—but claimed she left him no choice. Gates, attempting to use the Stand Your Ground defense, said Dixon kept grabbing his legs while he was on stage and ignored him when he told her to stop. According to Complex, Gates said he needed to use "necessary force" to protect himself. Dixon admitted to pulling on Gates' pants because she was "trying to get his attention for my friend." Her friend told the court she wanted Gates to notice her "because he is a famous rapper." Dixon said she only grabbed Gates twice before he kicked her, Fox 13 reports. She testified that she blacked out after being kicked and that her stomach hurt for a month. But Gates' attorney said Gates' foot didn't even make contact with Dixon, who he said is lying in order to get money in a separate civil suit. A jury—all white women, Complex notes—found Gates guilty of battery. Prosecutors were only asking for two months in jail, but the judge tripled Gates' punishment.