The woman whose three-year-old line-cutting episode at a Wal-Mart store ignited a racial explosion in a small Missouri town has pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and resisting arrest.
By pleading guilty to the two misdemeanors, Heather Ellis avoided a possible 15-year sentence if she had been convicted of assaulting a police officer, resisting arresting and disturbing the peace. Under the agreement, Ellis, a 24-year-old schoolteacher now living in Louisiana, must serve a year of unsupervised probation, attend an anger-management course and serve four days in jail before the end of the year. If Ellis stays trouble-free for a year, all charges will be sealed and the arrest will be expunged from her record.
Ellis, whose trial began in Dunklin County Circuit Court last week, accepted the plea deal after the court adjourned on Friday, saying that she was "taking responsibility for her actions and [hopes] that everyone else involved in the case will take responsibility for theirs." Earlier that morning, Ellis denied the charges against her.
Source: BET
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