Shia LaBeouf avoids jail following guilty plea over New Orleans bar incident

Shia LaBeouf has pleaded guilty to three misdemeanour battery charges following an altercation at a bar during New Orleans’ Mardi Gras.

The former Disney child star, 39, appeared in a New Orleans courthouse where he received a six-month suspended sentence and two years’ probation following his February arrest.

He would be required to spend six months in New Orleans jail if he violated his probation, according to the local district attorney’s office per The Guardian.

He was also ordered to undergo alcohol abuse rehabilitation, sensitivity training and anger management training.

LaBeouf’s lawyer, Sarah Chervinsky, said her client, who bought a house in New Orleans in December, was now “looking forward to focusing on family, work and new creative projects”.

New Orleans police were called to Faubourg Marigny, located next to the French Quarter, about 12.45am on February 17.

The actor became increasingly aggressive at Royal Street Inn and Bar, with a manager attempting to escort LaBeouf from the premises, during which he tried to hit the staff member.

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Court documents show LaBeouf then hit a male patron trying to help the manager and came back to hit a second man in the nose.

Chervinsky denied LaBeouf’s actions were driven by “bias or prejudice”. However police and one of the victims, entertainer Jeffrey Damnit, said LaBeouf repeatedly used homophobic slurs during the incident.

The Transformers star was held down by civilians until police arrived and he was taken to hospital for “treatment of unknown injuries”.

He was arrested and released on bail, after which he returned to the city’s famed Bourbon Street to continue Mardi Gras celebrations.

In an interview with YouTube channel Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan just days after the incident, LaBeouf said he did not think he had a drinking problem.

“I don’t think I have a drinking problem. I think I have a different problem, and I’m gonna address it,” he said.

“I think I have a small man complex. Some kind of Napoleonic, I don’t know what it is. I think it’s something that has to do with anger and ego more than my drinking.”