Gary Coleman pleads guilty to criminal mischief and avoids jail

(HMG) – A dubious Happy Birthday to former child television star Gary Coleman, who spent his 42nd birthday pleading guilty in a Utah courtroom to a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge related to a domestic violence incident last April. A deal was cut to shed the original charge of domestic violence assault. No details of the April 18 incident are detailed in court documents, but Coleman’s lawyer, Randy Kester, said that the argument between Coleman and his wife, Shannon Price, “was just a disagreement” that got out of hand.

The ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ actor was sentenced Monday to 31.5 days in jail, but will serve time only if fails to complete a course in domestic violence and pay a $595 fine.  According to the LA Times, he’ll do so in $50 monthly installments, with the implication that poor Gary who couldn’t make bail on his own is broke.

Gary, has had a volatile marriage with Shannon Price, 23. The pair met on the set of the comedy film “Church Ball” just five months before exchanging vows. In 2008, the couple appeared on “Divorce Court,” where Price described Coleman as distant and depressed. They have both proven to have explosive tempers. Shannon locked Gary out of their house and unleashed a profane tirade at police in their drive way in July. Shannon was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and disorderly conduct. Gary was arrested previously in Utah in 2008 after a man claimed Coleman tried to run over him in a parking lot when he tried to take a picture with the child star. The case was reportedly been settled out of court. Earlier this month, Coleman, was briefly hospitalized after he fell ill in Los Angeles.