Shia LaBeouf pleads guilty to obstruction charge in July arrest

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty in a Georgia court on Thursday to one count of obstruction and was sentenced to community service and a year of probation following his July arrest on charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

LaBeouf, 31, pleaded no contest to a charge of disorderly conduct and not guilty to public drunkenness, according to Savannah court records. He was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, anger management, drug and alcohol evaluation and was fined $2,000.

Representatives for LaBeouf did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

The actor, best known for playing Sam Witwicky in the "Transformers" franchise, was arrested in the lobby of his hotel in downtown Savannah in July after he became unruly.

Videos released by police from bodycam footage showed the actor hurling expletive-filled barbs at officers as he questioned the reason for his arrest. He was booked into the Chatham County Jail and released a few hours later.

LaBeouf at the time put out a statement on Twitter saying he was "deeply ashamed" of his behavior and that his actions "warrant a very sincere apology to the arresting officers, and I am grateful for their restraint."

"My outright disrespect for authority is problematic to say the least, and completely destructive to say the worst. It is a new low. A low I hope is a bottom. I have been struggling with addiction publicly for far too long, and I am actively taking steps toward securing my sobriety and hope I can be forgiven for my mistakes," he said on Twitter.

The actor, who broke out as a child star on the Disney Channel, has had numerous brushes with the law in recent years. In January, he was arrested after a scuffle outside a New York museum where he was chanting: "He will not divide us,” during a live-streamed protest against President Donald Trump.

In 2014, he was arrested in New York after disturbing a performance of the musical "Cabaret" on Broadway, which led to him pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct violation and receiving outpatient care for addiction.

LaBeouf most recently appeared at the Toronto Film Festival to promote his latest film "Borg vs McEnroe," in which he plays tempestuous tennis star John McEnroe.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by G Crosse)