Not only did Kim Richards not appear in a Los Angeles court on August 31 as expected, but People has confirmed Richards rejected a plea deal offered for her public intoxication charge.
Although there “were conversations about a negotiated settlement being offered by our office,” Ricardo Santiago, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, told People “the offer was rejected by the defense” in court, reportedly because Kim wants to serve “community service” instead of “community labor.” Perez Hilton confirms Kim rejected the deal at the court appearance.
Kim Richards skips court appearance, rejects plea deal for public intoxication arrest http://t.co/rQf8fxksGr pic.twitter.com/5rfTX4mrl3
— People (@people) September 2, 2015
People reports that if Kim doesn’t accept a plea deal and takes her case to court, Richards will be looking at jail time as part of her sentence. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office confirmed Kim has a September 14 pre-trial court date.
Kim Richards would not have been the first star to perform community labor. In 2013, recording artist Chris Brown was sentenced to 1,000 hours of community labor after his probation was reinstated as part of his domestic abuse guilty plea for beating Rihanna, according to a 2013 CNN article.
Brown was required to perform “beach cleanup or work for Caltrans, the California agency responsible for highway, bridge and rail construction and maintenance,” according to CNN, as part of his community labor . If Kim accepted the plea deal, she might have to do the same.
According to multiple sources, Kim did skip her court date, although she provided a good reason. According to her lawyers, who provided a photograph to the court as evidence, Kim suffered a foot injury after Richards caught it in a door. Entertainment Tonight reports that a photo obtained by the news site shows a “cut extending down approximately one inch between her toes.” A doctor told Kim she shouldn’t walk for two weeks, making a court date out of the question.
People confirms that Kim did not appear, but the judge accepted her explanation . Santiago explained that Kim “didn’t attend because she had some sort of injury to her foot,” but admitted the “judge accepted the explanation and allowed her attorney to appear on her behalf.”
Kim was arrested for public intoxication on April 16 after officers responded to a “report of a possible fight” at the Beverly Hills Hotel, reports People . According to a police statement, Kim Richards was arrested after “displaying symptoms of intoxication including slurred speech.” The report also claims Kim exhibited “belligerent insolent behavior cursing at the officers,” and according to Entertainment Tonight , Richards kicked a police officer .
Kim was subsequently charged with three misdemeanors, including public intoxication, resisting arrest, and battery on a cop. A source close to Richards told People at the time of her arrest that “no one understands what she’s doing.” Richards has reportedly been cut off from certain family members, but still her “family is so concerned. And they’re fed up. She’s cut herself off from friends and family who care about her.”
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[Image credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez /Getty Images]
