Alleged Halle Berry stalker pleads no contest
Halle Berry. AFP photo
LOS ANGELES–A man accused of stalking Halle Berry pleaded no contest Thursday, but was given no more time behind bars and had a burglary charge against him dismissed, prosecutors said.
Richard Franco, 28, was sentenced to five years of probation and 386 days in county jail, but was given credit for 193 days so “will not serve any additional time in county jail,” the District Attorney’s office said.
As part of a deal, in which he pleaded no contest to one count of stalking, Franco was also ordered to undergo one year of psychological counselling and a 10-year criminal protective order also was imposed.
Franco allegedly broke into a guest house at the Oscar-winning US actress’s Hollywood home during one of the several times he was spotted there in July last year.
The former Bond girl said Franco had “terrorized” her over three days from July 9, before he was arrested at 11:15 pm on July 11. Prosecutor Wendy Segall said in early proceedings that Berry was “in fear for her safety.”
Franco pleaded not guilty to the first-degree burglary charge, which said he broke into the guest house on July 10.
Berry, famous for the “X-Men” movies and as a Bond girl in “Die Another Day,” won a coveted best actress Oscar in 2002 for her turn in “Monster’s Ball,” the first such award to an African American actress.
Earlier this month People magazine reported that 45-year-old Berry is set to marry for a third time, after her French actor boyfriend Olivier Martinez popped the question.
