A former Carolina Panthers cheerleader avoided jail Monday by pleading no contest to charges that she punched a Tampa bar patron in a case that made national headlines.

Under the deal with prosecutors, Victoria Renee Thomas, 21, 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, do 50 hours of community service and pay $400 restitution to victim, Melissa Holden, who had been waiting to use the bathroom at Banana Joe's in November.

A police report said witnesses reported that Thomas and another member of the TopCats cheerleading squad, Angela Keathley, 26, appeared to be having sex in the bathroom stall before getting in a fight with patrons and getting arrested Nov. 6. They were in town for the Panthers' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On Monday, Thomas' attorney again denied that the cheerleaders were having sex in the stall. He said Thomas agreed to the plea deal to put the incident behind her.

In January, Keathley pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing a police officer. She was also placed in a pretrial intervention program for first-time offenders. It includes six months probation and 32 hours of community service.

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