LOS ANGELES - Time is running out for Bra Boy surf gang leader Koby Abberton to reach a plea deal with United States prosecutors on an assault charge.
Abberton is scheduled to appear in a Hawaiian court next week and prosecutors confirmed today a deal has not beenagreed upon.
The Sydney-based professional surfer faces up to a year in an American jail if convicted of assaulting an off-duty police officer outside a Honolulu nightclub on March 8.
"There's no agreement at this point in time, we're trying to reach an agreement but we don't have it yet," a spokesperson for the Honolulu prosecutor's office said.
Abberton was scheduled to face a jury trial last month, but Kaneohe District Court judge Ray Graulty gave the professional big wave surfer's US lawyer, Leslie Maharaj, and prosecutors time to discuss a deal.
Judge Graulty will hold a status conference in his court on September 25 to hear if a plea deal has been reached.
Abberton, 30, is charged with one count of third-degree assault.
Prosecutors accuse him of punching 27-year-old off-duty officer Richard Puu outside Honolulu's Epic nightclub in the early hours of March 8.
Puu told authorities he was hit while trying to break up a fight involving Abberton.
Abberton entered a not guilty plea in June and has said in media interviews he is a victim of mistaken identity.
Abberton and his brothers received worldwide notoriety this year with the global release of their documentary, Bra Boys, narrated by Oscar winner Russell Crowe, which focused on their violent upbringing on Sydney's southern beaches.
