“Criminal Minds” is suddenly living up to its name off camera.
On a day that star Thomas Gibson was fired for allegedly assaulting a writer, his former co-star Shemar Moore is awaiting repayment of around $60,000 stolen from him by a guest actor on the series who was sentenced Wednesday for felony grand theft.
Moore, who played FBI agent Derek Morgan for 11 seasons, was victimized by fellow actor Keith Tisdell after befriending the man and inviting him to work with his retail company, a prosecution source told the New York Daily News.
Tisdell was arrested in January for stealing from Moore through the actor’s retail merchandise company Baby Girl LLC, which gives a portion of its sales to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, authorities said.
Tisdell pleaded no contest to felony grand theft in July and was sentenced to three years of formal probation and 45 days of CalTrans labor on Wednesday.
Tisdell appeared in an early episode of “Criminal Minds” in 2006 and later popped up in a 2013 episode that focused on Moore’s character.
According to the Daily News, the two became fast friends, with Tisdell posting more than a dozen Instagram photos since April 2013 showing the two attending industry events together and going on trips and bike rides.
As part of a plea bargain reached Wednesday morning in San Fernando, actor Keith Tisdell, 42, agreed to repay Moore, 46, the sum of $61,084.
Moore, 46, appeared at the sentencing and told the judge that Tisdell hurt him deeply, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“I’ve done a lot for him because he had me, my friends fooled,” Moore told Judge Hayden Zacky. “I’m not here for money. I’m here because he betrayed a friendship. This is not OK. You don’t do this to people.”
As he spoke, Tisdell occasionally shook his head in disagreement, according to the LA Times.
After the sentencing, Tisdell’s attorney gave Moore $5,000 worth of money orders; his client has to repay about $56,000, or he could end up in jail. If Tisdell pays back the money and stays out of legal trouble for the next three years, the conviction may be expunged from his record, the judge said.
In other “Criminal Minds” news, CBS and ABC Studios fired Gibson Friday after he allegedly kicked the writer of the episode he was directing earlier this week.
“Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from ‘Criminal Minds,’” the network and production studio said in a joint statement. “Creative details for how the character’s exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date.”
Gibson, who had been with the show since its 2005 debut, told USA Today in a statement, “I love ‘Criminal Minds’ and have put my heart and soul into it for the last 12 years. I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won’t be possible now. I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have.”
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(Photo Source: AP, Keith Tisdell Instagram)
