Actor Tom Sizemore pleaded not guilty Monday to three misdemeanor counts stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident in July.
Sizemore is charged with one misdemeanor count each of intimate partner abuse, intimate partner battery and terrorist threats. He is set to return to court on Oct. 28 for a pretrial hearing.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office referred the case to the City Attorney’s Office for misdemeanor consideration after deciding against filing any felony charges against the 54-year-old actor.
Sizemore, known for his work in the movies “Saving Private Ryan” and “Black Hawk Down,” was arrested July 19 on suspicious of cohabitant abuse and posted $50,000 bond that evening.
Sizemore’s girlfriend told police she got into an argument with the actor that turned physical, and alleged that he struck her in the head and face.
According to a charge evaluation worksheet from the District Attorney’s Office, the 36-year-old woman suffered minor injuries.
Sizemore has a history of domestic violence, but “the most recent prior is from seven years ago,” according to the document.
Sizemore’s arrest came two weeks after he accidentally ran over a stuntman while filming the USA Network show “Shooter” in Agua Dulce.
The actor has struggled with substance abuse over the years, at one point starring in a VH1 unscripted series dealing with his attempts to regain his career after struggles with addiction.
He also has a long history of brushes with the law. Most famously, he was sentenced to six months in jail in 2003 for beating up his then-girlfriend, “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss.
In 2005, his probation was revoked when he was caught using a prosthetic device to try to fool a drug test. Sizemore eventually got his probation reinstated, but he tested positive for drug use in 2006 and was given another three years probation and ordered to take weekly drug tests.
The following year he was arrested on suspicion of drug possession in Bakersfield, and sentenced to prison for violating his probation.
–City News Service