Paparazzo facing charges found dead

updated 2:56 p.m. ET Feb. 23, 2006

A paparazzo facing charges involving an incident with actress Reese Witherspoon was found dead this month in a Brentwood apartment, the coroner’s office confirmed Thursday.

The body of Todd Kevin Wallace, 44, was positively identified but the cause of death was not determined pending results of toxicology tests, said Brenda Shafer, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County coroner.

The decomposed body was found on Feb. 5.

In December, an arrest warrant was issued for Wallace by Orange County authorities after he failed to show up for a bail hearing on misdemeanor charges that included battery.

Wallace allegedly became angry when Witherspoon and her friends declined to be photographed Sept. 2 at Disney’s California Adventure. Anaheim city prosecutors said Wallace became aggressive, striking a 5-year-old girl with his camera and shoving two park employees out of the way.

Witherspoon was at the amusement park for a birthday party for her 6-year-old daughter.

Wallace pleaded innocent to the charges, which could have sent him to jail for 3½ years if convicted.

He was free pending trial when Anaheim officials requested the bail hearing after learning that he had been arrested on Dec. 5 for allegedly stealing an item from an electronics store.

The photographer served more than four years in prison after a 1993 burglary conviction, according to state corrections records.

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