British comedian-turned Hollywood star Russell Brand was arrested after allegedly attacking a photographer at Los Angeles airport, police said. Brand was arriving with his fiancee singer Katy Perry when the altercation erupted on Friday, amid a scrum of photographers and cameramen jostling to take pictures of the star couple. The photographer who was allegedly struck made a citizen’s arrest of the star, before the airport police arrived and detained him. “About 1.50 pm today, the Los Angeles airport police responded to Terminal 5 to a report of a battery involving a celebrity and a commercial photographer,” said a statement by the airport police force.
“The victim involved placed the suspect (Russell Brand) under private person’s arrest. Airport police took the suspect into custody for Penal Code Section 242 — battery,” it added. He was taken to a nearby police station to be booked, the statement added. Some two hours later he was released on $-20,000 bail. A court hearing was scheduled for October 15, although it was unclear if Brand will have to appear personally.
Video footage of the incident on the TMZ celebrity news agency website show-ed Brand and Perry being surrounded by a scrum of photographers and cameramen. Brand pushed one of them away and later has a verbal altercation with the same photographer.
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Hilton will plead guilty to avoid jail
London: Hotel heiress Paris Hilton has agreed to plead guilty to cocaine possession to avoid a jail term. The socialite, who was arrested in Las Vegas in August, will instead serve a year of probation, reported Daily Mail online. She also must complete a drug abuse programme, pay a $2,000 fine and serve 200 hours of community service.
Hilton dodged a felony conviction under the terms of a plea deal worked out with prosecutors, Clark County District Attorney David Roger confirmed on Friday. It was initially reported that Hilton could have faced up to four years jail if convicted of cocaine possession. If she commits anything more serious than a minor traffic offence during the probationary period, Hilton will be jailed for a year, the district attorney confirmed. The 29-year-old was arrested on August 27, after a small plastic bag containing cocaine allegedly fell out of her purse as she reached for her lip balm in front of a police lieutenant. Hilton initially told the police that the purse and cocaine were not hers, but claimed some items in the bag, including rolling pap-ers, $1,300 in cash and several credit cards. —PTI