Former 'Scandal' Star Fails To Show Up In Court, Bench Warrant Issued For His Arrest

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A bench warrant was issued for the arrest of former "Scandal" cast member Columbus Keith Short after he failed to show up in court Monday on charges that he knocked out a man at a West Los Angeles restaurant.

A preliminary hearing had been scheduled to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial on a felony count of battery with serious bodily injury against Short, who is accused of punching a San Bernardino man during an engagement party on March 15.

Short's attorney, Michael Levin, said his client got stuck in Atlanta.

"He was bumped off the flight that he was supposed to be on," Levin said.

If convicted of the felony charge, Short faces up to four years in prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.

On Aug. 21, Short pleaded no contest to misdemeanor spousal battery, a separate charge stemming from a Feb. 3 fight with his wife in front of his children. As part of the plea deal, he was sentenced to three years probation, 30 days of community labor and ordered to seek counseling for domestic violence.

Until his character was killed off last season, Short portrayed Harrison Wright on the hit television series. The Missouri native has appeared in the films "Stomp the Yard," "Accepted," "The Losers" and "Death at a Funeral," and on the short-lived TV series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."