Terrence Howard gave a statement last week supporting Chris brown, before quickly retracting it and claiming that he was unaware of the details of the situation. Terrence faced legal action in October 2008 for assaulting Tex Allen, and it has just come out that he was arrested for assaulting his estranged wife in 2001. Howard broke a door down and punched his wife in the face twice, and according to police records he even admitted it when the cops came. The Smoking Gun has uncovered the records of the incident:

The actor, who co-starred in “Iron Man” and was nominated in 2006 for an Academy Award for his role in “Hustle & Flow,” was arrested by Pennsylvania cops in September 2001 for assaulting his estranged wife. According to a Whitemarsh Police Department report, after Howard and Lori McCommas argued on the phone, the actor warned, “Don’t disrespect me by hanging up on me or I’ll come over and hurt you.” McCommas then “hung up and contacted 911 fearing Howard was serious.” While McCommas was speaking with a police dispatcher, Howard “showed up at the victim’s residence and began breaking the door down.” McCommas ran to the rear of the house and into the backyard. Howard then “broke the front door down and ran through the screen door in the kitchen. Howard then grabbed the victim’s left arm and punched her twice with a closed fist in the left side of the face.” The attack was broken up by Howard’s brother, who responded to McCommas’s house after he “saw Howard storm out of their house to go to the victim’s house.” When a Whitemarsh cop responded to the scene, Howard admitted, “I broke the door down and hit my wife.” A second officer noted there was “fresh damage to the front door and marks on the victim’s face and arm from being struck.” Police evidence photos show the damage Howard did to the doors in McCommas’s residence. After being charged with a variety of crimes (simple assault, terroristic threats, harassment and stalking), Howard subsequently pleaded guilty in 2002 to disorderly conduct.

Terrence originally said about Chris Brown and Rihanna that “It’s just life, man. Chris is a great guy. He’ll be all right. And Rihanna knows he loves her. She’ll be all right. Just everybody’s got to get out of their way.” He later retracted the statement, saying he had no idea what the incident was when he was initially asked to comment. I believed it when Terrence claimed that he had been unaware of the fight, but given his personal history maybe it would have been better to decline to comment.

Rihanna has yet to make an official statement, and Chris Brown’s statement/apology was vague. The only part of the story we know for sure is that there was a fight and Rihanna was injured, but the extent of the injuries, the cause of the fight and if it was the first time they fought is in question.

Terrence Howard is shown at the Golden Globes on 1/11/09 and at the Gotham Awards on 12/2/08. Credit: PRPhotos