Hilton escapes jail over drugs charge

PARIS HILTON acknowledged yesterday that she had cocaine in her purse and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanour charges stemming from her arrest last month at a Las Vegas hotel-casino.

She will serve a year of probation and avoid a felony charge under the terms of a plea deal worked out with prosecutors. The celebrity heiress pleaded guilty to drug possession and obstructing an officer.

Hilton, 29, must complete a drug abuse programme, pay a $2,000 (€1,500) fine and serve 200 hours of community service.

Hilton – wearing a champagne-coloured blouse, a black pencil skirt and black platform heels – told Judge Joseph Bonventure she was in possession of cocaine.

When he asked what she did to obstruct justice, Hilton, swaying side to side, responded, “I said the purse wasn’t mine to the officer,” and acknowledged she had bought it months earlier.

When asked why she didn’t fight the charge, her attorney, David Chesnoff said, “Miss Hilton accepts the responsibility.”

She faces a year in jail if she violates the probation and is arrested.