“Witchblade” star Yancy Butler got the star treatment yesterday at a Long Island courthouse, where court officers blocked her face from cameras, rushed her into an empty elevator and let her use a private exit to avoid the press.
Butler, who played a cop in the canceled TNT series, is accused of harassment and violating an order of protection during a two-day, booze-fueled rampage last month, in which she allegedly attacked her father – former Lovin’ Spoonful drummer Joe Butler – and her uncle and head-butted a female cop, giving her a fat lip.
Prosecutor Dina Cangero told Suffolk County Judge Joseph Santorelli that Butler had enrolled in an “outpatient treatment program in Manhattan” for alcohol abuse.
Defense lawyer Robert Macedonio told the Central Islip court that his client, who’s charged with felony criminal contempt and harassment, was doing well in rehab, as a report to the judge suggested. Santorelli asked the actress how she was doing.
“I’m all right – how are you doing, your honor?” Butler replied, with a winning smile.
Cangero said she wanted Butler to continue with the program, which is her second time in alcohol rehab, and be placed on probation as part of any disposition of the case.
The judge asked for a follow-up report from the treatment program and set March 17 as the next court date.