Amanda Bynes pleads no contest in 2012 drunken driving case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former teen star Amanda Bynes on Monday pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor driving offense in Los Angeles stemming from a 2012 accident in which she struck a sheriff's patrol car. The lawyer for Bynes, 27, entered the plea to the charge of reckless driving with an alcohol component, Los Angeles County District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said. Bynes, who starred in her own Nickelodeon sketch comedy TV series "The Amanda Show" at age 13, was sentenced by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton to three years' probation and three months of alcohol education programs. The actress was arrested in the early house of April 6, 2012, in West Hollywood after her BMW car swiped the side of a patrol car. She was charged with DUI after refusing to take a sobriety test. Since the accident, Bynes has appeared at court hearings in wigs and has been known to send bizarre tweets, including asking U.S. President Barack Obama to fire the officers who arrested her. Last year she was placed in psychiatric care for starting a small fire in front of a home in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks. Her mother was put in charge of the financial and legal affairs of the actress. Bynes, who did not appear in court on Monday, is currently on probation for driving on a suspended license. (Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Mary Milliken and Mohammad Zargham)