An attorney for the 'Grindhouse' star reveals that the actress has agreed to enter a plea of no contest to reduce the felony charge stemming from her January 2017 arrest.

• Jan 10, 2019

AceShowbiz - Rose McGowan will avoid serving any jail time after reaching a plea deal over a drug possession charge stemming from her 2017 arrest.

The "Grindhouse" star was arrested after authorities reportedly found two packets of cocaine in a wallet she left behind on a flight to Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia in January, 2017.

McGowan faced up to a year behind bars if convicted for the crime, but has now struck a deal to prevent her from spending any time in prison and, as such, will enter a plea of "no contest" to the drug possession charge when she appears in court on 15 January.

Her attorney Jim Hundley told The Blast: "The Commonwealth and Ms. McGowan have reached a plea agreement in her case. The Commonwealth has agreed to reduce the current felony charge to a misdemeanour of possession of a controlled substance. Ms. McGowan will enter a plea of no contest to the reduced charge when she appears in court on January 15, and the Commonwealth will recommend a sentence that requires Ms. McGowan to pay a fine."

As for the reasons the former "Charmed" star accepted the deal, Hundley continued: "Ms. McGowan has accepted this agreement in order to spare her family, her friends, and her supporters the emotional strain of a criminal trial. The agreement brings this ordeal to an end and allows her to focus all of her energy on what matters most to her – creating a better world. Ms. McGowan will comment on the day of the plea."

McGowan has always maintained her innocence, insisting the illegal substances were not hers, and claiming the drugs could have been planted as five hours had passed between McGowan leaving her wallet, which contained her ID card, and when it was found by a cleaning crew.

She also alleged agents hired by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein may have been behind the incident as an attempt to discredit her for making sex assault accusations against him.

McGowan has been one of the fallen movie mogul's most outspoken critics since going public with her rape allegation in October, 2017.

Weinstein vehemently denied forcing himself on the actress, and his attorney, Ben Brafman, previously dismissed the drug-planting accusation as a "ludicrous claim".