Warrant issued for paparazzi

Man allegedly struck a 5-year-old while trying to photograph Reese Witherspoon
Associated Press


FULLERTON, Calif. -- An arrest warrant has been issued for a photographer who allegedly struck a 5-year-old child with his camera while trying to take pictures of Reese Witherspoon and her children at an amusement park.

An Orange County judge issued the warrant Friday after Todd Kevin Wallace, 44, failed to show up for a bail hearing.

Wallace had been free on his own recognizance while awaiting trial on six misdemeanor charges stemming from the Sept. 2 incident at Disney's California Adventure.

He allegedly became angry when Witherspoon and friends declined to be photographed and cursed them. Witherspoon's group was at the amusement park for a birthday party for her 6-year-old daughter.

Police said Wallace took photos from afar, but once he got close to the group, he became aggressive and scared some of the people, including some children, who were in tears.

The city attorney's office requested the bail hearing after learning Wallace had been arrested Dec. 5 on an initial charge of stealing from an electronics store in the San Fernando Valley.

Wallace had posted $20,000 bail and was freed after the arrest pending arraignment on a felony charge of petty theft with a prior conviction, said Nancy Lidamore of the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

The photographer served more than four years in prison after a 1993 conviction for second-degree burglary and receiving goods by fraud, according to state corrections records.