Amanda Bynes on psychiatric hold after allegedly setting small fire
Amanda Bynes has been placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold after allegedly setting a small fire in a Thousand Oaks neighborhood.
The onetime child star, who most recently appeared in “Hairspray†and “Easy A,†was detained by Ventura County sheriff’s deputies Monday after allegedly starting a small fire in front of a home in Thousand Oaks, authorities told L.A. Now.
No charges have been filed, according to the Associated Press.
About 8:45 p.m. Monday, deputies responded to a call at the 200 block of Avenida De Los Arboles.
“There was a call about a small fire that she’d apparently set in front of the residence, kind of out on a sidewalk on the concrete,†Sgt. Eric Buschow told L.A. Now. “It wasn’t an attempt to burn down the house or anything.â€
He added that the fire did not damage the property. But after deputies investigated the incident, they determined that Bynes met the criteria for a 5150 hold. The 27-year-old was then detained and taken for a mental health evaluation.
Bynes was taken for her own safety under California’s Welfare and Institutions Code, which allows for involuntarily hospitalization of an individual for 72 hours for evaluation if he or she is considered to be harmful to themselves or others, or is gravely disabled.
It is the same type of lockdown singer Britney Spears was placed under in 2008 at the peak of bizarre activity that landed her in a conservatorship.
Around midday Tuesday, a source familiar with the case said Bynes could actually be under the psychiatric hold for up to two weeks, L.A. Now reported. Authorities can seek to extend the hold if they can show a person is a danger to herself and others.
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Bynes had been accused of trespassing Sunday near the house where she was taken into custody Monday, TMZ reported. When authorities were called Monday, the website said, Bynes was reportedly standing next to the fire holding a “little red gas tank.â€
Though some reports said she grew up in Thousand Oaks, authorities said she had no connection with the home. It is unclear what she was doing in the area.
In recent months, the former child star has garnered much media attention for her increasingly bizarre behavior, including walking around New York with a shirt over her head and sharing Twitter rants about her life and commenting on other celebrities including rapper Drake and President Obama.
Bynes is currently facing drug-related charges in New York brought on by a May incident in which the former Nickelodeon star allegedly was smoking weed in the lobby of her high-rise apartment building and then threw a bong out of the 36th floor window. She has claimed the object was a vase.
At a court appearance in early July, for which she dressed in a jersey and a blue wig, her case was continued until Aug. 26, though Bynes isn’t required to show again until Sept. 26, TMZ said.
Bynes has had her share of run-ins with the law on this coast, too. There’s a DUI case from April 2012 still hanging over her head, and she pleaded no contest (via her attorney) in early May in another case in which she was accused of driving with a suspended license.
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