Real Housewife of New York, luann de lesseps, has been officially charged after a drunken rampage in Palm Beach, Florida. The reality star, 52, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer at the Colony Hotel. The star could face up to 5 years in prison for her actions.
What is exactly is she being charged for?
De Lesseps' encounter with the police occurred when she allegedly trespassed into a hotel room and refused to leave once officers arrived on the scene.
She was found with an unidentified male companion and subsequently locked herself in the bathroom to avoid the police. Rather than complying and leaving the room, she lashed out at the officers and resisted arrest when they tried to forcibly remove her. While yelling expletives and threats, she tried to kick an officer and later attempted to escape from her handcuffs and flee the scene. The officers did not take too kindly to De Lesseps' behavior and arrested her that evening.
The charges
On Wednesday, January 24, Luann was officially charged for incident. According to US Weekly, the charges include one felony count for resisting an officer with violence and two misdemeanors for trespassing and disorderly conduct.
Luckily for De Lesseps, the charges were brought down from the original four felony counts and singular misdemeanor count. These charges are certainly no joke, as the felony charge could lead up to 5 years in prison if convicted. She pled not guilty.
What could have led to this?
"The Countess" has had a rough year that may have led to this outlandish behavior. After her brief marriage to Tom D'agostino that ended in divorce 7 months later, things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. She had not been back to Palm Beach, a locale that her and her ex-husband often frequented, since their divorce. As seen on the show, Luann and Tom split their time between New York City and Palm Beach. Following the arrest, Tom was allegedly saddened for his ex-wife.
After the embarrassing incident, Luann decided to seek professional help and issued an apologetic statement on Facebook. Given the difficult year she had, her co-stars have come out in support of the star. Bethenny Frankel recently expressed her sympathies and support for De Lesseps to E! News. It is no secret that Bethenny and Luann have not always seen eye to eye, however she had kind words to say about De Lesseps in her time of need. Filming has begun for the next season of 'RHONY,' which will almost certainly include the drama surrounding De Lesseps' arrest.