Judge issues warrant for Lindsay Lohan’s arrest after the actress misses mandatory hearing

Judge issues warrant for Lindsay Lohan’s arrest

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A judge issued a warrant Thursday for Lindsay Lohan’s arrest after the actress missed a mandatory hearing, and authorities say she could be arrested at the airport when she returns from the Cannes Film Festival. Bail was set at $100,000.

Lohan didn’t seem too worried Thursday morning. The 23-year-old actress was partying on a yacht in the French Riviera until the wee hours, says celebrity photographer Phil Ramey, who posted the photos on his website tinselclown.com.

Lohan was due in court for a progress report on her probation stemming from two arrests in 2007. Her attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, said Lohan’s passport was stolen while in Cannes and she was unable to return to Los Angeles in time for Thursday’s hearing.

“She did, in fact, have airline tickets,” Holley told the judge. “From our standpoint, there is a valid reason for her not being here today.”

Holley said Lohan would be back in the United States by Friday evening. Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel wasn’t satisfied, saying the star has a history of missing scheduled appointments.

“If she wanted to be here, it looks to the court that she could have been here,” Revel said.

The judge revoked Lohan’s probation, issued the arrest warrant and imposed several conditions should Lohan make bail. She will be prohibited from drinking any alcohol, required to wear an alcohol-monitoring bracelet and submit to random weekly drug testing.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said outside the courthouse Thursday that Lohan could be arrested upon her return from France.

“As soon as the person is recognized by law enforcement, that individual is subject to immediate arrest,” he said.

Revel said a formal hearing will be held to determine whether Lohan is in compliance with the court’s conditions.

No new court dates have been set in the matter, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers said she would like to see proof that Lohan had purchased an airline ticket that would have gotten her back to Los Angeles in time for the hearing, as her attorney claimed.

“If she doesn’t have a ticket, she’s snubbing her nose at the court,” Meyers said.

Lohan has been on probation since August 2007 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drug charges and no contest to three driving charges. The plea came after a pair of high-profile arrests earlier that year.

Despite spending 84 minutes in jail and performing mandatory service at the county morgue, Lohan has struggled repeatedly with the terms of her sentence. In October, a judge extended her probation for another year but a prosecutor warned the actress she faced jail time if she violated her probation.

The extension was the third time Lohan escaped punishment after her alcohol-education program notified the court the actress had violated its rules. Two of the instances were described as misunderstandings; the third was chalked up to a busy work schedule.

In February, Revel said Lohan was making “good progress” toward completing her probation. Court records do not indicate that Lohan has ever failed a drug or alcohol test.

In a video posted online on the celebrity website Hollywood.TV Monday, Lohan says she’s “been in compliance more than ever” with the terms of her probation and could complete the required alcohol-education classes in “about two and a half weeks.”

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Holley said that Lohan has completed 10 of the 13 required alcohol-education classes. She said the actress went to Cannes to work on a movie, adding that, “It’s her job.”

Lohan’s estranged father, Michael Lohan, was in the courtroom Thursday. His attorney, Lisa Bloom, said later that Michael Lohan is concerned “about Lindsay’s deterioration over the last weeks and months.”

Bloom went on to say that if the judge finds that Lohan violated her probation, they hope that she will be sentenced to residential drug rehabilitation instead of jail.

Online:

www.tinselclown.com/