Hayden Panettiere's Ex-Boyfriend Denied Request to Reduce Felony Charges Before Her Death Hayden Panettiere's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson was denied his request to reduce two past felony charges three days before her death. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office wanted to use his ex's claims to police to show Hickerson's alleged pattern of abuse toward women he dates. Hayden Panettiere's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson was denied his request to reduce two past felony charges three days before her death. Prosecution objected to Hickerson's motions to expunge and to reduce the charges to a misdemeanor during a hearing on Thursday, August 13. Hickerson had been involved in an alleged incident that allegedly turned violent with his then-partner in 2017, nearly two years before he was accused of hitting Panettiere in 2019. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office wanted to use his ex's claims to police to show Hickerson's alleged pattern of abuse toward women he dates, according to the filing.The court records state that the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a possible battery call on August 13, 2017, and spoke to a woman who claimed she had been dating Hickerson for five months. During the disagreement, she said she entered the bathroom with her cellphone to calm down and take a bath. Her bath was interrupted when Hickerson allegedly entered the bathroom and accused her of sending nude photos to other men.The documents claim Hickerson then picked up the cellphone and slammed it on the floor, causing it to break. When officers spoke to Hickerson about the alleged incident, he claimed he didn't know his girlfriend's phone was damaged. The woman ultimately did not want to proceed with criminal prosecution, and no case was filed against Hickerson in the matter. The DA, however, thought the information was relevant in its case against Hickerson for his alleged pattern of abuse.The DA argued that evidence of other acts of domestic violence should be admissible against Hickerson in this case. The DA also wanted to introduce another alleged act of violence against a significant other at the hands of Hickerson in their case involving Panettiere.When police arrived at the actress' home on May 2, 2019, after receiving calls from neighbors of a woman screaming, they noticed significant bruising to Panettiere's body that she claimed happened days before while on vacation with Hickerson. Officers reported seeing more than 10 darker bruises throughout the victim's arms, back, and legs.When asked about these additional injuries, the victim explained the two had been in Puerto Rico a few days prior and that the defendant Hickerson had assaulted her, leaving numerous bruises on her body. Both incidents help to illustrate the defendant's propensity for violence against women he dates, the DA argued in the motion to introduce the alleged Puerto Rico incident and the one involving his previous ex in their case against Hickerson, claiming he lies in order to increase his chances of getting away with the crime at hand.The DA noted that both incidents are fresh in the defendant's criminal history and both incidents were provided to the defense well in advance of the trial date. Hickerson was arrested in July 2020 on multiple felony charges, including four charges of corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, two charges of assault, and one of intimidating a witness, Panettiere.He pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/girlfriend, and the remaining six counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. He was sentenced to one year and eight months in county jail, four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution, and a five-year protective order.He later filed a request to reduce his past felony charges, but was denied just three days before Panettiere's death at age 36 while staying at a South Carolina Airbnb with Hickerson