Phillips Charged with Battery

The 'misunderstanding' from more than one month ago (on August 11) is, actually, a serious case of assault and battery, court papers indicate. The actor Lou Diamond Phillips, best known for his parts in 'La Bamba' and 'Stand and Deliver' was arrested and taken into custody after a heated conversation escalated to physical violence.

At the time of the arrest, Phillips admitted to verbally assaulting his girlfriend but both he and his publicist claimed that the entire situation had been nothing but a 'misunderstanding'. He was released on his own recognizance, on bail set at $50,000, due to his known temperamental behavior.

Yesterday, official charges of physical assault and battery have been filed against the actor but court papers don't say whether it was the girlfriend the one who filed them or if they came as a consequence of the police investigation. Nevertheless, Phillips is charged with 'unlawfully use of force and violence upon a person'.

If found guilty, the actor is liable of spending up to a year in a county jail and of paying a fine of up to $2,000. Meanwhile, the next court hearing and the last one too has been scheduled for October 18, 2006.