NEW YORK – The bong-tossing case against Amanda Bynes will be dismissed if the actress stays out of trouble for six months and goes to counselling twice a week, a judge ruled Friday.
Bynes was charged in New York City last spring with reckless endangerment and marijuana possession after building managers called police because they said she was smoking pot in the lobby of her Manhattan apartment. When officers entered her 36th-floor apartment, they said they saw her heave a bong out the window.
The 27-year-old Hairspray star later appeared in court in a disheveled blond wig and said she didn’t do anything wrong. It was one episode in a string of erratic incidents involving Bynes last year. She was institutionalized in August after authorities said she set a small fire in the driveway of a home in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Her mother, Lynn Bynes, was granted a temporary conservatorship over the actress, but the case was dismissed because Amanda Bynes’ care was being overseen by a mental health court.
A Manhattan judge allowed the adjournment in contemplation of dismissal Friday, which means the actress does not have to admit guilt. She must attend counselling twice a week for six months and cannot be re-arrested or the deal is revoked.
Bynes didn’t appear in court. An affidavit filed on her behalf by attorney Gerald Shargel said she understood the agreement.
“This is an important step in her rehabilitation and she is pleased with the result,” he said outside court.
The actress left an inpatient mental health treatment facility in California in December and is currently with her parents. Her California attorney said she is considering returning to school to study fashion design.
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