Charge against McGuire dismissed

Justice of the Peace James Bixler today dismissed a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge against singer Phyllis McGuire.

The charge was dropped after McGuire's Las Vegas lawyer, John Moran Jr., told the judge that the 68-year-old singing legend had performed 40 hours of community service as part of a deal worked out with District Attorney Stewart Bell earlier this month.

Moran provided Bixler with a letter from Judith Hartin, director of development at the Nathan Adelson Hospice Foundation, that said McGuire had fulfilled her service obligations there.

McGuire, a member of the longtime singing trio, the McGuire Sisters, also agreed to make a $5,000 donation to the Injured Police Officer's Fund as part of the deal.

"I believe this now puts an end to an unfortunate incident, and everybody can get on about their own business in the future," Bell said this morning after the charge was dropped.

McGuire was not present in court. As of late Monday, she was considering coming to court and holding a news conference afterwards to tell her side of the unusual chain of events that led to her March 24 arrest outside her home in the exclusive Rancho Circle gated community.

But Moran said she decided at the last minute that she wasn't ready to talk to reporters this morning.

Instead, McGuire sent her personal lawyer from New York, Paul Derounian, to Bixler's courtroom with Moran.

"With the dismissal of this action, this matter has been concluded in favor of my client," Moran said. "She will now carefully examine her available legal options."

Moran added: "I anticipate she will be having a press conference in the near future to set the record straight on the abusive conduct of these particular officers who instigated this unfortunate incident."

McGuire's white Cadillac was followed by detectives on March 24 after her driver and bodyguard, 28-year-old Gerald Earl, had stumbled into an undercover investigation at a shopping center near the singer's home.

Detectives in unmarked vehicles stopped the car outside the home and questioned Earl. When police tried to talk to McGuire, she reportedly refused to cooperate.

She was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center and later released on her own recognizance.

McGuire has been a longtime fixture on the Las Vegas social and entertainment scene.

The McGuire Sisters performed at Gov. Kenny Guinn's inaugural ball in Las Vegas in January and were inducted into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame at the Tropicana hotel-casino in February.

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