Shia LaBeouf has pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery after an incident earlier this year in New Orleans.
The Even Stevens actor was arrested in February of this year for hitting people and using anti-gay slurs during Mardi Gras.
According to Nola, LaBeouf was handed a six-month suspended sentence with two years’ probation for the charges.
“The police and DA investigation proved exactly what Shia LaBeouf said from the beginning — that this was nothing more than a minor Mardi Gras bar tussle,” Labeouf’s attorney, Sarah Chervinsky, said in a statement. “There is no evidence it was about bias or prejudice, which is why the state only charged these low-level misdemeanors. Mr. LaBeouf came to court today wanting to take accountability for his part in what happened, and he has done so. Now he’s looking forward to focusing on family, work, and new creative projects.”
On February 17, police said the Disturbia actor was “causing a disturbance and becoming increasingly aggressive” at a Royal Street business outside the French Quarter, adding, “Once removed from the building, the victim reported being struck by LaBeouf, who used his closed fists on the victim several times.”
LaBeouf was arrested, and after he posted bail and treated his injuries, he returned to the scene to continue celebrating Mardi Gras.
In an interview following the incident, he addressed his past struggles, saying in a Channel 5 interview with Andrew Callaghan, “I don’t think I have a drinking problem. I think I have a different problem, and I’m gonna address it … I think I have a small man complex. Some kind of Napoleonic, I don’t know what it is. I think it’s something that has to do with anger and ego more than my drinking.”
