BOULDER — A former child TV star who assaulted his girlfriend in 2007, dodged police for more than a year, then assaulted his best friend and tested positive for marijuana was sentenced to two years of probation Thursday.
Brian Bonsall, 28, pleaded guilty Thursday to felony menacing and third-degree assault in connection with the 2009 case. He also pleaded guilty to violating his probation from the 2007 case, and was sentenced to 40 hours community service and five days in the Boulder County Jail’s work-release program.
A Boulder County district judge agreed to give Bonsall a deferred sentence on the felony menacing charge, meaning that if he stays out of trouble for two years, the felony won’t show up on his permanent record.
Bonsall’s pleas on Thursday wrap up the numerous charges and cases he’s had going for years. His attorney, Yasmin Forouzandeh, told the court that her client has significant substance abuse issues and asked that he be allowed to participate in the county’s “integrated treatment court,” which focuses on rehabilitation instead of straight jail time. A judge will decide next week whether he’s eligible for that program.
Bonsall, who most notably starred as Michael J. Fox’s little brother Andy Keaton in the 1980s TV series “Family Ties,” lived in Boulder for several years – graduating from Boulder High in 2000 – before leaving town and skipping a court hearing in 2008.
Get more Boulder news at .
