Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider is going to spend a few days in jail for failure to pay over $150,000 in delinquent alimony.
The 58-year-old was sentenced to three days in the Los Angeles County Jail on Monday for not paying spousal support due to his estranged wife, Elvira “Elly” Schneider, TMZ reports. The payments were due in mid-March.
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He will also have to complete 240 hours of community service.
In February, a judge gave Schneider until March 14 to pay more than $150,000 in support to Elvira, who filed for divorce in Los Angeles county in November 2014 after 21 years of marriage. At Schneider’s February hearing, the judge reportedly ordered Schneider to transfer his Apple Valley property to Elvira and to resolve the property’s tax liens. TMZ reports that he did not resolve the tax liens.
In September 2016, Schneider was ordered to pay Elvira $18,911 every month, TMZ reported at the time. Schneider and Elvira have three adult children: Leah, Chasen and Karis.
Schneider could reportedly be in jail as soon as Tuesday.
Fox News reports that Schneider was unable to pay spousal support because his income isn’t sufficient to make the payments. He claimed that he hit hard financial times and spent much of his money repairing his movie studio in Louisiana after it was destroyed in a March 2016 flood.
Schneider played Bo Duke on the Dukes of Hazzard TV series from 1979 to 1985 as well as a handful of revivals in the early 2000s.
A Dukes of Hazzard reunion and tour was canceled after Schneider’s co-star, Tom Wopat, was arrested for indecent assault and battery in August. (Wopat pleaded not guilty in November to charges on inappropriately touching a 16-year-old girl during a July musical rehearsal in Waltham, Massachussets.) In court documents obtained by The Blast in January, Schneider said that he was “willing but unable” to pay Elvira’s spousal support because he was banking on the Dukes of Hazzard reunion and tour until it was canceled following Wopat’s arrest.
In addition to the canceled tour and his ruined movie studio, Schneider also partially blames Elvira for his financial struggles, saying she withdrew $200,000 from their joint account following their divorce filing. He also claims that she “never attempted to work or even find work” during their marriage. He claims she spent $15,000 per month on their American Express card and put them both “in severe debt to commercial institutions, the IRS and the state government.”
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