By Christie D’Zurilla, Los Angeles Times –
LOS ANGELES — Fred Willard reportedly has been offered the opportunity to avoid prosecution after being arrested Wednesday night in Hollywood on suspicion of lewd conduct.
The “Best in Show” actor can sign up for a $380 “pre-filing diversion program” to sidestep criminal prosecution, a spokesman for the city attorney told L.A. Now on Friday. Willard had a previous lewd conduct arrest in 1990, prosecutors said.
If the course isn’t completed within a year, the case could still be prosecuted, spokesman Frank Mateljan told L.A. Now.
Willard, who was nabbed during vice officers’ routine inspection of the Tiki Theater, insisted on Thursday that the situation was all “a big misunderstanding.” His attorney issued a statement saying they would be “working vigorously” to clear the 72-year-old’s name.
Even if the actor takes the diversion route, the arrest has still cost him more than $380: PBS fired him Thursday from its “Market Warriors” series.
