Lindsay Lohan case: Prosecutors demand rehab for star, sources say
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A hearing is scheduled Friday morning for Lindsay Lohan related to a charge that she lied to police about a car crash on Pacific Coast Highway.
Police said the 26-year-old actress told officers she was not driving a Porsche that rear-ended a truck on June 18 as she headed to the set of “Liz & Dick.” Lohan faces one misdemeanor count each of reckless driving, providing false information to an officer and willfully resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer.
To avoid trial on those charges, as well as violating her probation on a separate shoplifting conviction, Lohan will have to agree to serve at least 90 days in a lockdown rehabilitation facility, officials have said.
She is not required to appear in court Friday.
Santa Monica city prosecutor Terry White and Lohan’s attorney Mark Heller have discussed a possible plea deal, said sources familiar with the prosecution. But the L.A. city attorney won’t accept any deal of less than 90 days in a locked rehab, they said.
Lohan was already on probation for stealing a necklace from a Venice jewelry store, a misdemeanor grand theft charge to which she pleaded no contest in May 2011. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office has accused her of violating her parole.
Should Santa Monica’s prosecutor agree to a lesser sentence, L.A. prosecutors will probably object and ask that Lohan be sentenced to 90 days in rehab for violating the terms of her probation, the sources said. Plea deal negotiations Wednesday snagged on the questions of rehab, community service and therapy to resolve the misdemeanor criminal charges, sources said. If no deal is struck, prosecutors are scheduled to begin the trial March 18.
The misdemeanors each carry potential jail sentences ranging from three months to a year.
According to sources, L.A. prosecutors are taking a hard line because Lohan has a history of repeatedly disobeying court orders, and those involved believe she needs ‘meaningful rehab’ in a credible facility.
In a letter to prosecutors, Heller has offered to have Lohan participate in intense therapy, regular drug screenings and offer inspirational speeches to schools, hospitals and other groups while establishing a nonprofit foundation for youth.
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-- Richard Winton and Laura J. Nelson
