Being charged with misdemeanor battery, Alan Panettiere is scheduled to be arraigned at a Beverly Hills courthouse on October 11, 2008 and facing up to one year in jail if convicted.
- Sep 26, 2008
AceShowbiz - It's official, Hayden Panettiere's father Alan Panettiere has been formally charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from an altercation with his wife Lesley Panettiere early last month. The L.A. County District Attorney's Office announced the charging Thursday, September 25.
Alan is scheduled to be arraigned October 11 later this year at a Beverly Hills courthouse. He faces up to one year in a Los Angeles County jail if convicted.
Back on August 11, Alan was arrested at the family's West Hollywood home on suspicion of spousal abuse. He was accused of hitting his wife, former soap opera actress Lesley, 52, following a heated argument.
At that time, a sheriff's spokesman said that Alan struck Lesley one or two times on the cheek with closed fist that caused bruises. "There was a domestic argument between the mother and father," Sgt. Scott Wolf of the West Hollywood sheriffs stated. "He got upset and struck the mother in the face one or two times on the left cheek which caused some bruising. From what I'm told, he hit her with a closed fist."
Lesley then called police to report on the incident and authorities took her statement and subsequently took Alan into custody upon noticing bruises on her face. Alan was arrested on felony charge instead of a misdemeanor because "there were visible signs of injury" on Lesley's face. He was said to be "cooperative" during his arrest and released from custody on $50,000 bail later that day.
Soon following his release, Alan told "Extra" the incident was a "misunderstanding" and that "nothing actually happened." His celebrity daughter, Hayden, branded it a misunderstanding that was "blown way out of proportion by a sheriff who wanted his 15 minutes of fame."
