Shannon Beador was sentenced after her arrest for alleged DUI hit and run in September.
The Real Housewives of Orange County star, 59, was sentenced to three years of probation and 40 hours of community service. She will also be required to complete a nine-month alcohol program. Beador also has to pay restitution for the house damage from the incident, which she has already done.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer was pushing for a harsher punishment for the Bravo star including 30 days in jail, according to TMZ, who first to report the news.
Beador was not in attendance at the hearing on Thursday morning but her attorneys pleaded no contest to one of the charges on her behalf.
The sentencing comes less than a week after Beador was charged with two misdemeanors by the Orange County District Attorney. She was facing one count of DUI and one count of hit and run — which was dismissed during Thursday’s hearing — following the incident last month.
The reality star had a .24 blood alcohol level, which is three times the legal limit, law enforcement officials told TMZ.
The Newport Beach Police Department previously confirmed that Beador was “ arrested at 1:17 a.m. on Sept. 17 after fleeing the scene from a collision that caused property damage.” The reality star was booked on two misdemeanors — hit and run and DUI alcohol — and released on a citation, per NBPD.
According to an initial report by TMZ, police found her walking her dog after allegedly abandoning her car in the middle of the road. Beador’s lawyer told in a statement on Sept. 18 that his client was “prepared to accept full responsibility.”
“She is extremely apologetic and remorseful,” Fell stated at the time. “We will be awaiting the official information on this case as it becomes available, and Shannon is prepared to accept full responsibility for her actions.”
That same day, Beador’s friend and fellow Bravo star Jeff Lewis addressed the situation on his SiriusXM talk show, admitting he was “shocked” and that her actions were uncharacteristic.
“Unfortunately [Shannon] got a DUI on Saturday night. She was also in a car accident. She was injured, so she’s going to be recovering,” Lewis, 53, shared. “Shannon and I have been friends for a very long time. I was shocked — she called me yesterday and we talked for awhile — and I was shocked because I’ve never known Shannon to ever, ever drink and drive.”
“I will tell you she’s accepting full accountability,” he continued. “She is ashamed, she’s embarrassed.”
The Bravo star also noted that he didn’t believe his friend was “an alcoholic,” but instead “going through a lot of personal struggles.”
“People are like, ‘Oh she needs rehab,’ ‘Oh she’s an alcoholic’ — I don’t think Shannon is an alcoholic,” he added. “I think she’s been going through a lot of personal struggles right now, and I think she has been leaning on alcohol — but I don’t think she’s an alcoholic.”
Earlier this year, Beador spoke up about feeling “blindsided” after her boyfriend of three-and-a-half-years, John Janssen, ended their relationship.
“I’ve never loved anyone more in my life,” Beador shared on an episode of RHOC. “I was hopeful this was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted it to work out. I’ve never loved anyone like I’ve loved John. But clearly, he didn’t feel the same way.”
Additionally, the star was allegedly removed from a bar earlier this year after a “screaming” argument with Janssen’s daughter. While she later acknowledged the disagreement, she vehemently denied that she was “kicked out.”
“The lights were up [and] they were saying, ‘Everybody wrap it up,’” Beador said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “I wasn’t kicked out, but I asked security to help me with my Uber. That was it. … I absolutely was not kicked out.”
