N.Y. judge adjourns disorderly conduct case against actor LaBeouf

[July 25, 2014]  By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A judge on Thursday adjourned until September the disorderly conduct and harassment case against actor Shia LaBeouf, who was charged with disturbing a Broadway theater performance in June.

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, the bearded actor who starred in the "Transformer" movies and with Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," was silent during a brief hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court.

His attorney, G. Robert Gage, Jr. and Assistant New York County District Attorney Ali Russell said they were discussing a possible resolution to the case and asked for more time. The case was adjourned by Judge Ann Scherzer until Sept. 10.

Gage did not respond to a request for comment.

LaBeouf, 28, was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, one count of trespass, one count of criminal trespass and harassment in the second degree during his arraignment on June 27 following a performance of "Cabaret."
 

All of the charges are misdemeanors or violations so he would face minimal or no jail time if found guilty.

The actor did not comment as he was escorted out of the courthouse to a waiting barrage of camera crews and photographs outside the court in lower Manhattan.

A week after his New York arrest, LaBeouf's publicist said he was receiving outpatient care for addiction and that he had realized his strange behavior was a symptom of a bigger health problem.

The court appearance on Thursday followed a series of recent incidents in which the actor behaved strangely. In February he walked out of a press conference and attended a red carpet premiere at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival wearing a brown paper bag on his head that read "I Am Not Famous Anymore."

The California-born actor also wore a brown paper bag when he met visitors at an unusual art installation he had organized in Los Angeles.

LaBeouf also apologized to a graphic artist whose work he was accused of plagiarizing in his short film "Howard Cantour.com."

The actor has completed filming on his next film, the World War Two drama "Fury" with actor Brad Pitt.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jeffrey Benkoe)

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