LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two people charged with trying to extort
millions of dollars from Stevie Wonder pleaded no contest on Monday and
were released after being sentenced to time-served in jail.
Alpha
Lorenzo Walker and Tamara Diaz were sentenced to serve 292 days in jail
and three years of probation for attempting to sell a video that
purportedly portrayed Wonder in a negative light. Jail credits made the
pair eligible for release Monday.
The pair was arrested in May
after the Grammy-winner’s attorney arranged a sting and claimed Walker
had sought up to $5 million for the video.
Walker’s attorney, Ian
Wallach, said the deal was reached after prosecutors encountered trouble
proving the extortion case and that the charges were eligible to be
reduced to misdemeanors and expunged later if the pair comply with the
terms of their release.
A judge ordered the pair to stand trial in
July after a preliminary hearing in which a police detective described
the video as an 80-minute rant against Wonder. Portions of it were
filmed in the former home of the singer’s late mother, which is now
dilapidated, and it also shows Wonder’s son, whom the musician is
protective of.
Wallach had maintained his client was innocent and
that he had a constitutional right to make and market the video. Diaz is
Walker’s girlfriend and was present during a police sting that involved
Wonder’s attorney and led to the pair’s arrest.
The Los Angeles
District Attorney’s Office said both were ordered to stay away from
Wonder and his associates while on probation.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.