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Mel could serve time
03/08/2006 12:09 - (SA)
Los Angeles - Mel Gibson faces a fight in criminal court apart from his public trial for unleashing an anti-Semitic tirade after he was stopped for speeding last week and arrested for drunk driving.
Gibson was charged on Wednesday with driving under the influence of alcohol, having an elevated blood-alcohol level and an open container of liquor in his car.
If convicted, Gibson faces up to six months in jail, though first-time misdemeanour drunken driving offenders usually face minimal, if any, time behind bars. It's up to the judge to determine if Gibson would serve any time.
"After evaluating all the evidence presented by the Sheriff's Department - and they presented every scrap of evidence they had - we evaluated carefully and felt the charges we filed were the appropriate charges in this case," said district attorney spokesperson Sandi Gibbons.
Prosecutors made no mention of Gibson's self-described "belligerent behaviour" and "despicable" remarks in the complaint.
An attorney may appear in the actor's place during his September 28 arraignment.
Gibson's lawyer, Blair Berk, declined to comment, saying "It is inappropriate to discuss the ongoing case."
Apologies
Arrested at 02:36 on Friday after being stopped for speeding, Gibson had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12%, over the legal limit of 0.08%.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said the charges "didn't surprise me".
"I think all of the important points in the news stories have established that there is sufficient evidence to charge him with drunk driving and the evidence in his car, an open container, and he will be held accountable for his violations under the law," he said.
In the aftermath of Gibson's arrest, his publicist, Alan Nierob, has said the actor-director was in an ongoing programme for alcohol abuse before the arrest and has entered another, on an outpatient basis.
For his part, Gibson has apologised twice, the latest addressing the Jewish community directly for his "vitriolic and harmful words".
Gibson's apologies weren't accepted by former TV producer Merv Adelson, who took out an ad in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times blasting movie studio heads for not strongly and publicly condemning the Oscar-winning actor-director.
"Let's make ourselves proud and NOT support this JERK in any way, just because he's a so called 'star', wrote Adelson, co-founder of Lorimar Productions, which produced such TV hits as Eight is Enough and The Waltons.
- AP
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South Africa
