RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 5 sourcesHayden Panettiere's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was arrested twice last year in Los Angeles ... prosecutors revealed in open court during a hearing days before her death.
Here's the deal ... last month, Brian filed a petition to expunge his domestic violence arrest from his record. In 2021, he pled no contest to two felony counts of corporal injury to a spouse/cohabitant and was sentenced to 45 days in jail and 4 years of probation, and he had to fulfill other requirements as well.
Brian petitioned the court, claiming he'd met his obligations under the law ... and he wanted the felonies taken off his record ... a motion prosecutors opposed.
During a court hearing last Thursday -- which neither Hickerson nor his attorney attended -- PEOPLE reports prosecutors strongly opposed expunging the record ... citing Brian's alleged drug use and two different arrests that took place last year in Los Angeles.
According to the outlet, Brian was arrested on August 2 and August 6 in 2025. Prosecutors declined to prosecute him after the first arrest due to insufficient evidence.
However, prosecutors say they charged Brian with one misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance ... but he entered a diversion program. He completed 10 Narcotics Anonymous sessions, and a judge dismissed the case. As for expunging his record ... a judge denied the request at the hearing.
Worth noting ... an interview we did with Brian back in May was used by the prosecution to support their claim that he wasn't sober.
Hayden died just three days after this court hearing ... and we've confirmed Brian administered Narcan to her. Narcan is an important detail because it's used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
It appears Hayden and Brian were traveling with Narcan or picked some up shortly after arriving in South Carolina on Saturday ... because they had it with them in their Airbnb on Sunday when she became unresponsive and died.
The presence of Narcan also suggests Hayden and/or Brian were struggling with substance abuse ... and now we know Brian was charged with a drug offense a little over a year before her apparent overdose and had been going to Narcotics Anonymous sessions.
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