Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis was convicted by a jury on Monday of 5 misdemeanor charges stemming from a night-gone-wrong for Francis.  Francis was convicted of 3 counts of false imprisonment, 1 count of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and 1 count of assault causing great bodily injury.  He faces up to 5 years in the Los Angeles County jail at his sentencing hearing which takes place today.

Victims told police they had gone to the popular Supper Club in Hollywood to celebrate a college graduation.  Upon closing time, Francis, allegedly, grabbed one of the 3 female victims by the hand and took her to his limo.  The two other victims followed, believing Francis would be giving them a ride to their own car.

This is apparently where things went south.  The victims claim that once in the limo, Francis’ bodyguard and driver produced, what appeared to be law enforcement badges and would not let them leave the limo.  The victims were taken to Francis’ house, where a physical altercation took place between Francis and the victims as he allegedly attempted to pull one of the victims away from the others.  This is when Francis was alleged to have grabbed the victim by the throat and pushed her head into the tile floor.

What is clear from the verdict is that the jurors believed Mr. Francis did not conduct himself very well that night and that most likely the victims’ story had some truth to it.  Mr. Francis is in a tough predicament here as he is most likely looking at some amount of county jail time along with anger management classes, community service, probation or other terms and conditions of his sentencing.  Los Angeles County judges take violent crimes very seriously, not to mention Mr. Francis was also convicted of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.

Typically, police detectives will attempt to contact you to “get your side of the story” and many times these statements are turned around and used against you.  It is a much smarter idea to have your attorney be the liaison between you and law enforcement.  There is always two sides to the story so make sure that your side gets heard.  There may even be the possibility of a civil compromise in your case where we can get the charges dismissed.

If you have been charged with false imprisonment, assault or battery in the Criminal Courts Building (CCB), the Airport Courthouse, Burbank Courthouse, Pasadena Courthouse, or in the Van Nuys Courthouse, contact attorney Ross Erlich as soon as possible to make sure your rights are protected.