LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lindsay Lohan has one less legal worry after prosecutors announced Tuesday that they would not pursue any charges against her over a December scuffle with a rehab worker.
Riverside County District Attorney’s spokesman John Hall said prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to pursue a misdemeanor battery case against the actress.
Police were called to a Betty Ford Center facility in Palm Desert around 1 a.m. on Dec. 12 after a worker accused Lohan of hurting her during an altercation. The worker, Dawn Holland, later spoke about the incident on camera with TMZ and was fired by Betty Ford for violating patient confidentiality rules.
Lohan was nearing the end of her three-month court-ordered treatment at the center after violating her probation on a 2007 drunken driving case.
Prosecutors had sought further investigation from police agencies that responded to the call, but ultimately found there was not enough evidence to file charges.
The “Mean Girls” star faces a far more serious case in Los Angeles, where she is accused of felony grand theft after a jewelry store claimed she took a $2,500 necklace without permission.
Lohan has pleaded not guilty and her attorney has said she is innocent. The actress last week rejected a plea deal that included guaranteed jail time and is due in court on April 22 for a preliminary hearing during which prosecutors will lay out some of their evidence against the starlet.
An email from Lohan’s attorney, Shawn Holley, stated she was out of the office and was not immediately available for comment.
If she is ordered to stand trial, a judge could send Lohan to jail for violating her probation.
The actress has been a fixture at LA-area courthouses since May, when she missed a court appearance and was later sent to jail for 14 days for violating her probation. Another judge sent her to jail briefly and she was sentenced to rehab twice as well. The jewelry store reported the necklace missing within three weeks of Lohan’s release from the Betty Ford Center.
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