Remember way back in March when Russell Brand took very unkindly to a paparazzo who was taking photos of him with a lady, so allegedly grabbed his phone and, threw it into a window of a nearby building, smashing the window?
Well, now you do remember. In March, the pap went to the police and recently, Russell was charged. Luckily for Russell, it looks as if he will escape jail time. He was charged with “misdemeanor criminal damage” by the New Orleans District Attorney, as that’s where the incident happened (he was filming on location there).
His lawyer pleaded not guilty on his behalf at the hearing today, and the two sides have come to an arrangement, which means that, instead of serving the six months of jail time that usually faces someone convicted of this crime, he can get out of jail. But not for free. He has to pay the court $500 in fees (though they don’t get to wear those fun wigs in the US, it still costs something to keep the court open).
Also, he must complete 20 hours of community service before August the 31st. According to TMZ, Russell’s will plan to undertake his community service by working with people with addiction problems.
It is not yet known if the community service will be based in New Orleans, or Los Angeles, where Brand is based.
Apparently Russsell’s defence was based on the fact he didn’t cause $500 worth of damage and paid $240 to fix the window shortly after the incident.
Phew! We couldn’t imagine Russell’s chatty nature would go down well with any inmates of any jail...