Django Actress Charged With Lewd Conduct

Daniele Watts and boyfriend Brian James Lucas could face $1K fine, 6 months in jail
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 22, 2014 10:30 AM CDT
Django Actress Charged With Lewd Conduct
Actress Daniele Watts and Brian James Lucas speak during an interview with KABC-TV in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, 2014.   (AP Photo/KABC-TV)

Daniele Watts said racism drove LA police to handcuff her after she was caught "showing affection" toward her boyfriend in a car last month; one of the officers has said that was a lie and that the Django Unchained actress and Brian James Lucas were reported for having full-on sex and that she refused to show her ID. Prosecutors apparently agree with the officer, charging both Watts and Lucas yesterday with one count each of lewd conduct, CNN reports. The two could each face a $1,000 fine and six months in jail if found guilty. "We were sent a collection of evidence from law enforcement and after review, our prosecutors felt filing was appropriate," a spokesman for the LA City Attorney's Office told the New York Daily News.

The Daily News got its hands on alleged audio of the Sept. 11 incident: In the recording, a woman identified as Watts can be heard telling police she knows her rights because she played a cop on TV, that she was getting cuffed for simply making out with Lucas, and that the officer who pulled them over thought she was a prostitute. Sgt. Jim Parker, however, told the Daily News that he never thought Watts was a prostitute and that she could have avoided all the hubbub by simply showing her ID. He added that he thought Watts' racism charges were "ironic," since he's gay and the other officers on the scene were a woman and a Latino. The couple's arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 13. (This randy duo apparently thought they'd get busy in a Home Depot display shed.)

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