Animal control is getting involved in Real Housewives of Orange County star Shannon Beador’s DUI and hit-and-run investigation.
“We don’t have animal endangering laws like you would with children but we do have animal cruelty laws, so he’s going to look into that a little bit further,” the Newport Beach Police Department told Page Six on Friday, September 22, while noting that the lead animal control unit officer is “looking into it.”
Newport Beach PD confirmed to Us Weekly on Monday, September 18, that Beador, 59, was arrested for a DUI and a hit-and-run over the weekend. The reality star — whose dog, Archie, was in the car with her — was was reportedly driving erratically through a Newport Beach neighborhood when she clipped a house. Per TMZ, Beador exited the vehicle with Archie when police arrived in an alleged attempt to make it seem like she was walking her pet.
Earlier this week, Us obtained photos of the damage caused by the incident and spoke to the resident of the home who claimed that Beador was caught by the police after they followed a trail of automobile fluid.
“What they said was someone hit your house and they were able to locate the suspect because they followed automobile fluid,” the tenant explained to Us. “There was [a] clear trail of it and it’s still outside of our house.”
Beador’s ex-boyfriend John Janssen — whom she split from in January after four years of dating — lives only a few houses down from where the accident took place, according to the tenant. The resident further claimed that there is talk among the neighbors that Beador was visiting Janssen, 59, the night of the crash as some allegedly “heard them screaming at each other” and that Archie was allegedly returned to Janssen after Beador was taken into custody. Beador was later spotted with Janssen on Tuesday, September 19, three days after her arrest.
Shannon Beador with dog Archie. Courtesy of Shannon Beador/Instagram
After news broke of Beador’s arrest, her attorney Michael Fell released a statement to Us about his client. “I spent quite a bit of time with Shannon yesterday. She is extremely apologetic and remorseful,” the message read. “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.”
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While Beador is ready to face the consequences of her actions, attorney Neama Rahmani — who isn’t involved in her case — exclusively told Us he doesn’t think she’ll actually have to face jail time.
“If you’re dealing with a first-time DUI and you enter into a plea, usually you’re not going to get any jail time,” Rahmani explained on Tuesday, September 19. “What will happen is you’re going to have to do some classes, some Alcoholics Anonymous, maybe, some Mothers Against Drunk Driving classes. You may even have to have an interlock ignition device installed on your car, which means you have to blow into it for your car to start.”
