the actor Shia LaBeouf was sentenced to probation on Wednesday after pleading guilty to punching three people outside a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras.LaBeouf must attend an alcohol treatment program under the sentence handed down by an Orleans Parish judge, according to the actor’s attorney, Sarah Chervinsky.LeBeouf, best known for his roles in 2007’s “Transformers” and 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull,” was released on bail after being arrested near the city’s historic French Quarter. Video of the Feb. 17 encounter shows a shirtless LaBeouf outside a bar knocking one person to the ground and punching another person in the face, “possibly causing a dislocated nose,” according to a New Orleans police report. Police said LaBeouf repeatedly used homophobic slurs, including during his arrest.LeBeouf pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery. Orleans Parish judge Juana Marine-Lombard sentenced the actress to six months in prison and two years of probation. LaBeouf also needs to stay away from the victims and the bar.Chervinsky said LaBeouf wanted to “take responsibility for his part in what happened” and called it a “little Mardi Gras bar brawl.” Chervinsky said there was “no evidence of bias or prejudice.”Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said in a statement that his office consulted with victims to secure their support before offering LaBeouf a plea deal.Jeffrey Damnit, a local entertainer identified by police as Jeffrey Klein, said he was one of the people LaBeouf attacked. She said LaBeouf chased her into the bar earlier that night, yelling homophobic slurs and threatening her life.Damnit’s attorney said his client hopes LaBeouf’s behavior improves after the actor undergoes substance abuse treatment.“We’re all equal in New Orleans, we should all feel safe, and we don’t treat people differently based on relative popularity,” said attorney Michael Kennedy.After LaBeouf was indicted in February, a judge ordered him to return to drug and alcohol rehab.Days later, LaBeouf denied having a “drink problem” in an interview with journalist and YouTuber Andrew Callaghan. LaBeouf said he doubted rehab would help him. He told Callaghan that the problems that led to his aggressive behavior during Mardi Gras were rooted in “anger and ego” rather than alcohol.LaBeouf also said that “big gay people scare me.”“When I’m standing by myself and three gay men are touching my leg next to me, I’m scared,” he told Callaghan. “Sorry. If that’s homophobic, then I am.”LaBeouf, who converted to Catholicism a few years ago, has had several run-ins with the law in his career, including a 2017 arrest in New York City on suspicion of assault during a live broadcast.That same year while filming “The Peanut Butter Falcon” in Georgia, he was arrested for public drunkenness and charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction and sentenced to probation.In 2020, he was charged with a felony and petit larceny in Los Angeles.That year, English singer and actress FKA Twigs, who calls herself Tahliah Barnett, also filed a lawsuit alleging LaBeouf physically and emotionally abused her during the relationship, which was settled in July.The actor first rose to fame as a child for his role in the Disney Channel series “Even Stevens.”___Brook is a member of The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national nonprofit service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues.
