O’Neal won’t be charged in fight with son
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office announced Friday that it would not press assault or gun charges against actor Ryan O’Neal stemming from a dispute in February at his Malibu home involving his adult son.
Prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and made their determination after reviewing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigation and interviewing witnesses.
O’Neal, 66, was arrested Feb. 3 on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm after firing a gunshot during an argument with his son.
The actor told authorities that his son, Griffin, picked up a fireplace poker and started swinging it. The younger O’Neal grazed him four or five times and “aimed at my head, I ducked, he hit his own girlfriend in the head,” O’Neal said.
The actor said he fired a warning shot intended to scare his 42-year-old son. He said his son struck Joanna Berry, 22, with the poker during the fight. The elder O’Neal was nominated for an Oscar for the 1970 movie “Love Story.”
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