Lindsay Lohan accused of battery

Actress Lindsay Lohan is under investigation of misdemeanor battery after being accused of attacking a female staffer at the Betty Ford Center, where a Beverly Hills judge ordered the actress to undergo addiction treatment for violating probation.

Palm Desert police are completing an investigation into the Dec. 12 incident and will turn it over to Riverside County prosecutors to decide whether the “Mean Girls” actress should face criminal charges, officials said Tuesday.

The incident could be found to be a violation of the terms of her probation in a 2007 Los Angeles County drunk driving arrest. Any such violation could send her back to jail.

The actress, who has made more court appearances than movies in recent years, violated the terms of her probation in the fall, leading a judge to order her to stay in rehab through the end of the year.

Palm Desert officers were called to the 74000 block of Daisy Lane at 1:03 a.m. Dec. 12 for a disturbance at a Betty Ford Center housing complex. A staffer there accused Lohan of battery, said Sgt. Joseph Borja of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

“The victim desires prosecution,” he said.

Because the charge is classified as a misdemeanor and officers did not witness anything, Lohan was not taken into custody.

Shawn Chapman Holley, Lohan’s attorney, “At this time, we are declining to comment.... It should be noted, however, that it was Ms. Lohan who called 911 to request police assistance at the time this incident occurred.”

Battery is a low-level offense that amounts to unwanted touching. According to sources, the staffer said Lohan pushed or shoved her to move her away.

Lohan checked into the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage in September, even before Beverly Hills Judge Elden S. Fox ordered her to remain there until Jan. 3 to undergo treatment for chemical dependency.

The judge at the time turned down a request by a prosecutor that Lohan serve six months in jail for failing drug tests while on probation for drunk driving. But he sternly warned Lohan that if she violated probation again, he would sentence her to jail. Neither the judge nor prosecutor in that case had been informed of the Palm Desert incident as of Tuesday, according to officials.

In recent years, the actress has twice been sentenced to jail and in both instances was released early because of overcrowding in L.A. County’s women’s jail in Lynwood. Earlier this year, another Beverly Hills judge sentenced Lohan to 90 days in custody, including 30 days in jail, for failing to complete alcohol education classes in a timely manner.

During the hearing, the actress, who rose to fame in “Freaky Friday” and “The Parent Trap,” was captured on camera with an expletive painted on her fingernails.

Lohan served less than one-third of her jail sentence and was released from an inpatient drug rehabilitation center at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after 23 days. In September, she announced on Twitter that she had failed a court-mandated drug test required by her probation.

When Fox learned of the failed drug test, he ordered her held for 30 days in jail without bail, pending a hearing on whether she violated probation.

But that same day, Judge Patricia Schnegg overturned his ruling, saying Lohan had the right to bail as a misdemeanor defendant. The actress was freed on bail and soon entered rehab.

Until the Palm Desert incident, sources familiar with her treatment said they believed she was making progress after several years of struggling to get control of her life.

Lohan’s legal woes date to 2007, when she was arrested twice in three months for driving under the influence. During one arrest, narcotics were found in her jeans pocket. She pleaded no contest and was placed on probation and agreed to attend alcohol education classes.

richard.winton@latimes.com