Doherty Claims Innocence

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/22/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

"Charmed" star Shannen Doherty, 29, pleaded innocent to a drunken driving charge on Friday in Ventura County, Calif., and her lawyer denied the contention by authorities about her blood alcohol level, reports the Associated Press. The former "Beverly Hills, 90210" actress did not attend the hearing, which resulted in a trail being set for April 30. California Highway Patrol officers who claimed to have seen her pickup truck weaving on Highway 101 arrested Doherty in December. Prosecutors said a blood test showed her blood-alcohol level was 0.13% (the legal limit is 0.08%). In disputing their claim, Doherty's attorney had part of the blood sample independently tested. The result of that, he said, supports his client's claim that she was not driving drunk. He declined to reveal the specific results. In 1996, Doherty was accused of throwing a beer bottle at a car window outside a West Hollywood bar. After pleading no contest to a vandalism charge, she agreed to anger-management counseling, was fined $5,400 and placed on two years' probation.