Ex-cheerleader avoids jail in bar brawl

A former Carolina Panthers cheerleader avoided jail Monday by pleading no contest to charges stemming from her role in a brawl sparked by accusations that she was having sex with another cheerleader in the bathroom of a bar. Under the deal with prosecutors, 21-year-old Victoria Renee Thomas pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and unlawful display of a license. And she entered a pretrial intervention program for the one felony charge she faced, giving a false name to an officer. Thomas was ordered to participate in anger management counseling, perform 50 hours of community service and pay $400 restitution to a woman she punched, who had been waiting to use the bathroom at Banana Joe’s in November.