"Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis sentenced for assaulting woman

LOS ANGELES "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis was sentenced Tuesday to 270 days in jail and three years' probation for choking a woman and repeatedly slamming her head to the ground at his Los Angeles mansion in 2011.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Nancy L. Newman also ordered the 40-year-old Francis to complete an anger management course and attend 52 sessions of psychological counseling, according to Deputy City Attorney Mitchell Fox.

"Mr. Francis is really a danger to the community," Fox said, according to CBS Los Angeles. "He's had his way with ability to force people to comply with his wishes, he physically has been violent with people."

A jury in May convicted Francis of five misdemeanor charges — three counts of false imprisonment, one count of assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury, and one count of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.

Francis' attorney Steve Levine said key details of the case were proven to be false in court, and he is appealing the decision.

"Joe has always maintained his innocence," Levine said. He added that the judge "still came to a very fair and measured decision."

He told TMZ he thought the sentence was "absurd" and will do everything he can to make sure it's thrown out.

"I'm confident the legal system will course-correct and I am 100 percent innocent. There's no way I ever forced anyone to get into this car," he told news cameras as he went back into his black SUV outside the courthouse.

According to Fox, Francis met three women on Jan. 29, 2011, at a college graduation party at the Supper Club in Hollywood. He grabbed the arm of one of the girls and took her to his limo, and the two others followed, believing they'd be taken to their car. Instead, they ended up in a gated area of Francis' Bel Air home.

Francis appeared to be interested in one of the women and tried to lead her away, but her friend pulled back, Fox said.

Francis then "jumped on the friend, took her to the ground, choked her, slammed her head against the ground, dragged her across the ground, and when she got back up, did it several more times," Fox said.

He then apparently told the women they were trespassing and had to leave. The women said they were going to call the police, and Francis yelled to "go ahead and call the police," the prosecutor said.

Francis told the girls he "owns the police" and that officers wouldn't arrest him, Fox added.

Judge Newman denied Francis' request for a new trial Tuesday, but sentenced him to less than the four years in county jail urged by prosecutors.

Levine said Francis would be released from custody soon after posting a $250,000 bond Tuesday. He'll remain free pending the outcome of the appeal.

The day after Francis was convicted in Los Angeles, he told The Hollywood Reporter that members of the jury were " be shot.? and up lined all should ?they said retarded,?>

Francis later apologized for his comments.

"This is one of those cases where being a celebrity did not help him at all," Levine said.

Francis has had a number of past legal troubles. Last year, a jury found him guilty of defaming casino mogul Steve Wynn on multiple occasions, including on ABC's national morning show. Francis claimed the creator of some of Las Vegas' most upscale resorts threatened to kill him over a gambling debt.

Dozens of other lawsuits have targeted Francis, who built a porn empire producing and marketing videos of young women exposing themselves on camera.

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Video: Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan sentenced to death

Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan sentenced to death 1:54 August 28, 2013

Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan sentenced to deathThe CBS News Roundup: Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan is sentenced to death; President Obama honors Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington; The Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park is threatening air quality in Nevada -- all this and more. Alexander Trowbridge reports on the news you need to know.

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Civil rights icons remember the March on Washington 3:14 August 28, 2013

Civil rights icons remember the March on WashingtonMarian Wright-Edelman, Andrew Young and Julian Bond were all a part of the March on Washington half a century ago. Scott Pelley speaks with them about that day, and what is left to be done.

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Chris Brown sentenced to 1,000 hours labor

LOS ANGELES A judge reinstated Chris Brown's revoked probation Friday and gave the singer a new sentence to perform 1,000 hours of community labor such as cleaning beaches or highways, removing graffiti or performing other chores assigned by the probation department.

Brown's current legal troubles are the latest repercussions of his arrest four years ago for assaulting his former girlfriend, Rihanna.

The popular R&B singer sat in a courtroom for nearly an hour as his lawyer, Mark Geragos, and a prosecutor shuttled in and out of the judge's chambers, with Geragos apparently seeking his client's approval for a plan to keep him from facing more serious consequences.

Superior Court Judge James Brandlin finally emerged and announced that an agreement had been reached.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray withdrew a request to rescind Brown's probation because of a hit-and-run charge that was dismissed in another court Thursday.

Brandlin then told Brown he must perform 1,000 hours of community labor with one of four public programs: California Department of Transportation highway cleanup, graffiti removal, beach cleanup or Probation Alternative Work Services.

Brown, 24, didn't speak during Friday's hearing, other than to agree to the deal worked out while he waited in the courtroom with his mother and two other people.

The singer has been in and out of court since pleading guilty to the 2009 assault on Rihanna. Besides making reports on fulfilling the requirements of an earlier order for community labor, he has had subsequent run-ins with the law for assault and traffic accidents.

The work that Brown did previously does not apply to the new sentence, said district attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison. Brown has a year to perform the work and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 20 for a progress report.

Brown, who won a Grammy in 2011 for Best R&B Album with "F.A.M.E.," could ask the court to end his probation when he completes the community labor, but the final decision on the length of probation will be up to a judge.

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Chris Brown sentenced to 1,000 hours labor

LOS ANGELES A judge reinstated Chris Brown's revoked probation Friday and gave the singer a new sentence to perform 1,000 hours of community labor such as cleaning beaches or highways, removing graffiti or performing other chores assigned by the probation department.

Brown's current legal troubles are the latest repercussions of his arrest four years ago for assaulting his former girlfriend, Rihanna.

The popular R&B singer sat in a courtroom for nearly an hour as his lawyer, Mark Geragos, and a prosecutor shuttled in and out of the judge's chambers, with Geragos apparently seeking his client's approval for a plan to keep him from facing more serious consequences.

Superior Court Judge James Brandlin finally emerged and announced that an agreement had been reached.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray withdrew a request to rescind Brown's probation because of a hit-and-run charge that was dismissed in another court Thursday.

Brandlin then told Brown he must perform 1,000 hours of community labor with one of four public programs: California Department of Transportation highway cleanup, graffiti removal, beach cleanup or Probation Alternative Work Services.

Brown, 24, didn't speak during Friday's hearing, other than to agree to the deal worked out while he waited in the courtroom with his mother and two other people.

The singer has been in and out of court since pleading guilty to the 2009 assault on Rihanna. Besides making reports on fulfilling the requirements of an earlier order for community labor, he has had subsequent run-ins with the law for assault and traffic accidents.

The work that Brown did previously does not apply to the new sentence, said district attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison. Brown has a year to perform the work and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 20 for a progress report.

Brown, who won a Grammy in 2011 for Best R&B Album with "F.A.M.E.," could ask the court to end his probation when he completes the community labor, but the final decision on the length of probation will be up to a judge.

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Doctor sentenced in drug scheme

TRENTON — A Little Silver doctor was sentenced to 57 months in prison Monday, after admitting to writing more than 6,000 illegal prescriptions for oxycodone in a massive three-county prescription drug ring bust that netted 28 arrests and convictions.

Jacqueline Lopresti, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and 11 counts of distribution of oxycodone, said Matthew Reilly, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney?s Office. Lopresti also was sentenced to three years of supervised release, was ordered to forfeit $465,000 and was fined $5,000.

In 2009, Lopresti issued prescriptions to co-conspirators for drugs containing oxycodone, outside the usual course of medical practice and without any legitimate medical purpose, Reilly said. Prescriptions were filled at different pharmacies located across Monmouth, Ocean and Atlantic counties, which were then redistributed to others.

Federal authorities in 2011 said Lopresti and Christopher Erwin, 49, then an unemployed landscaper from Barnegat with whom she had a sexual relationship, masterminded the distribution of the drugs. Erwin was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years and eight months in prison.

But Reilly said Monday that Erwin and Stephen Sampson, 52, of the Manahawkin section of Stafford, were the leaders of the distribution ring, which used doctors, specifically Dr. Hassan Lahham and Lopresti, to collect the prescriptions.

Last week, Lahham also was sentenced to nine years in prison for his connection to the scheme, Reilly said. Sampson will serve eight years, Reilly said.

Erwin and Sampson would visit the doctors and pay for the prescriptions in their names and in the names of other people. They then would acquire the oxycodone for further distribution, Reilly said.

The co-defendants include: Christopher Keosseian, 48, of Belmar; Joseph Keosseian, 46, of Belmar; James Baker, 51, of Forked River; Alex Bushman, 47, of Manahawkin; Heather Dockery, 28, of Barnegat; Wendy Galati, 45, of Toms River; Edward Gural, 37, of Barnegat; Donald Johnson, 32, of Barnegat; Bryan Lewicki, 36, of Barnegat; Gregory Man, 50, of Surf City; Carter Nies, 36, of Barnegat; Jonathan Puggi, 35, of Little Egg Harbor; Henry Shubert, 43, of Waretown; Kyle Skora, 33, of Toms River; Crescenzo Terranova, 51, of Little Egg Harbor; and Robert Walton III, 55, of Manahawkin.

The Drug Enforcement Administration?s New Jersey Division, along with the special agents, diversion investigators, task force officers, detectives and intelligence analysts of the Atlantic City Resident Office, Camden Resident Office Diversion Group, Seaside Heights Police Department, Barnegat Police Department, Ship Bottom Police Department, and the state DEA Tactical Diversion Squad are credited with the investigation leading to Monday?s sentencing.

The Asbury Park Press asked the U.S. Attorney's Office for a photo of the suspect, but they did not respond to the request by deadline. State law allows authorities discretion in releasing suspect photos, but they often refuse to do so, saying they are prohibited by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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