'Highly Unusual': Shannon Beador Accuses Orange County DA Of Targeting Her In DUI Case Because She's Famous
Nov. 16 2023, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Shannon Beador accused overzealous prosecutors in her DUI case of treating her “differently” because she’s a famous reality star, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
The bombshell allegation is laid bare in a searing court brief blasting the Orange County District Attorney’s demand for a 30-day jail sentence following Bedor’s drunken hit-and-run crash in Newport Beach, California in September.
The fireworks erupted when Beador’s renowned defense attorney Michael L. Fell read the DA’s sentencing report which also called for a draconian “search and seizure” clause in her probation that allows officials to conduct at-will warrantless inspections of her home and property.
Fell called the DA’s sentencing request “astounding” and “highly unusual.”
“Shannon Beador is being treated differently from any other individual facing the same charges,” Fell wrote in the blistering Nov. 2, 2023, brief obtained by RadarOnline.com.
“The undersigned is aware that the Court has been a judicial officer for over 35 years and feels confident that it has never rendered such a sentence down to any first-time DUI offender,” he added.
“It is further surprising that on a general misdemeanor case that did not involve drugs and/or weapons that the prosecutor would ask the court to offer informal probation with a term and condition of search and seizure.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the blotto Real Housewives of Orange County star was arrested for DUI and hit-and-run after smashing her car into a home’s concrete planter then abandoning her car and bolting from the scene with her beloved dog Archie.
But Fell claims Beador walked home to retrieve her cell phone to call for help and voluntarily returned to the scene and explained what happened.
What’s more, the prosecutor’s sentencing report neglected to mention that Beador, 59, cut a check and apologized to the homeowner who declined to prosecute.
“What was included in the Prosecutor’s Brief, for some reason, is that Ms. Beador is a public figure and is featured on a nationally televised show,” Fell wrote in the court document. “One wonders why this information was relevant to include in their brief, but demonstrates the fact that Ms. Beador is not being treated the same as every other individual face the same charges.”
Judge Brett G. London agreed to drop the hit-and-run charge and allowed Beador to plead no contest to DUI. She was sentenced to three years informal probation, complete 40 hours of community service, attend a 9-month alcohol program and pay a $960 fine, court records showed.
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A furious DA Todd Spitzer blasted the softball sentence.
"Driving under the influence must have consequences. When a judge gives someone who not only drove with a blood alcohol level of .24 - three times the legal limit - but then ran away from the scene of a DUI collision a slap on the wrist, you are sending a message that DUIs are not serious crimes that demand accountability,” he said.
“This is not justice. We as a society need to wake up and address the very real - and often deadly - consequences of driving under the influence.”