Up Date: Robert Downey's Jr. drug case

Downey Jr. pleads innocent to drug charges
INDIO, Calif. (AP) - Actor Robert Downey Jr. pleaded innocent Thursday to reduced drug charges stemming from his arrest last November in a Palm Springs hotel. The 36-year-old actor, who wore amber-tinted glasses and a conservative blue suit, didn't speak during the hearing at a Riverside County courtroom. He is scheduled to return to court on July 16. Downey faces one felony count of possessing cocaine and one misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Authorities allegedly found the drugs in his hotel room after receiving an anonymous call. The actor was arrested in a Culver City alley last month and was booked for investigation of being under the influence of drugs. Tests showed Downey had traces of cocaine in his system. Prosecutors have said that arrest will be handled as a parole violation. The incident cost him his role on TV's "Ally McBeal," for which he won a Golden Globe earlier this year.

His legal troubles began in 1996 when he was stopped for speeding and authorities found cocaine, heroin and a pistol in his vehicle. A month later he was found passed out in a neighbor's home and was hospitalized at a substance-abuse treatment center. Three days later, he was arrested for leaving the center. In August 1999, Downey was sentenced to three years in prison for violating his probation by missing drug tests. He was released a year later on $5,000 bail.

Downey drug charge reduced
INDIO, Calif. (AP) - Prosecutors have reduced one of the charges in Robert Downey Jr.'s Palm Springs drug possession case to a misdemeanor. Downey was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in a Riverside County court on the reduced charge after his attorneys filed a court document arguing he should be charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly possessing Valium, Deputy District Attorney Tamara Capone said. However, Downey still faces a felony count of possessing cocaine and an additional misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance, she said. The 36-year-old actor was arrested at Merv Griffin's Resort Hotel and Givenchy Spa last November. Authorities allegedly found the drugs in his hotel room after receiving an anonymous 911 call. Downey was arrested in a Culver City alley last month and was booked for investigation of being under the influence of drugs. Prosecutors have said that arrest will be handled as a parole violation.

Downey arrest treated as violation
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actor Robert Downey Jr.'s drug arrest last month will be handled as a parole violation and no new charges will be filed, the district attorney's office said Monday. Downey, whose legal troubles involving drugs date to 1996, had been scheduled for a Tuesday court appearance. Downey was arrested in a suburban Culver City alley in April for investigation of being under the influence of a drug. Tests revealed traces of cocaine in his system, Culver City police said last week before turning the case over to county prosecutors for a decision on whether to file charges. If charges had been filed, Downey would have faced at most a short jail term. A parole violation could carry the possibility of being sent to a lockdown drug program or prison. But state officials said they plan only to strengthen the conditions of Downey's parole. Downey still faces drug charges stemming from a November arrest at a Palm Springs hotel. The next hearing in that case is May 24 in Indio.

Downey tests find traces of cocaine
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actor Robert Downey Jr., who has acknowledged a longtime drug addiction, had traces of cocaine in his system when he was arrested last month, authorities said Thursday. The urine test that Downey, 36, voluntarily took revealed no other drugs in his system, said Lt. Dave Tankenson of the Culver City Police Department. "It will be up to the DA's office on what charges to file," Tankenson said. "But we are recommending he be charged with a misdemeanor of being under a controlled substance." Messages left for two of Downey's lawyers were not immediately returned. Publicist Alan Nierob declined comment on the test results. Downey was arrested in a suburban Culver City alley last month and was released to his parole office and ordered to return to court May 15. Downey, who was already facing drug charges stemming from a November arrest at a Palm Springs hotel, could face up to a year in jail for his most recent arrest.

Downey's troubles led to his release from his Golden Globe-winning role on the Fox comedy "Ally McBeal." His drug problems span at least five years. In 1996, police found cocaine, heroin and a pistol in his vehicle after he was stopped by police for speeding. A month later, Downey was found passed out in a neighbor's home and was hospitalized at a substance-abuse treatment center. Three days later, he was arrested for leaving the center. Downey was sentenced to three years in prison in August 1999 for violating his probation by skipping scheduled drug tests. He was released a year later on $5,000 bail.

Downey Jr. hearing postponed
INDIO, Calif. (AP) - Lawyers for Robert Downey Jr. Monday were given three more weeks to prepare for a hearing where they'll challenge a police search during the actor's drug arrest last Thanksgiving weekend. After the arrest at Merv Griffin's Resort Hotel and Givenchi Spa, Downey was charged with felony counts of possessing cocaine and Valium and a misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Motions filed by Downey's attorneys say the Valium and cocaine were obtained illegally by police. The lawyers also asked the court to suppress Downey's statement giving police permission to search the hotel room. A hearing scheduled Monday was postponed to May 24, a deputy district attorney said. Downey, 36, is set to appear in court May 15 for his arrest last week in a Culver City alley for investigation of being under the influence of drugs.

Robert Downey Jr. Busted Again

Robert Downey Jr.'s problems haven't ended

The troubled Ally McBeal costar was arrested early Tuesday morning in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Exactly what kind of controlled substance was not immediately known. But Downey, 36, was picked up by Culver City police at about 12:10 a.m. while walking on the 12000 block of Washington Boulevard.

"One of our patrol officers observed him and began an investigation after seeing him in an alley," police Lt. Dave Tankenson said in a statement. "During the investigation, the officer determined that [Downey] was showing symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance."

Downey was booked on the misdemeanor drug charge, given a urine test and then released to his parole agent, Tankenson said. According to a statement released by his publicist, the actor has voluntarily checked himself into an undisclosed rehab facility.

The Golden Globe winner was due to appear Tuesday night at the Virgin Megastore in Hollywood, where he and Ally songstress Vonda Shepard were expected to sign copies of the new Ally McBeal disc, For Once in My Life, on which they duet. The album release party has now been canceled.

Tuesday's arrest marks the latest criminal run-in for the actor, whose release from prison last year--followed by a renewed acting career and subsequent battles with addiction--have been watched closely.

The actor is still due in an Indio, California, court next Monday for a pretrial hearing stemming from his Thanksgiving weekend drug bust in Palm Springs.

If convicted, Downey could face another four years in prison. Meanwhile, his lawyers are continuing to wrangle in court and are now challenging the legality of the hotel-room search by Palm Springs police last November. The actor was arrested after police--responding to an anonymous 911 call saying Downey had guns and drugs--allegedly found cocaine and Valium in his room at the Merv Griffin Resort.

But Downey's attorneys have filed motions to quash the search warrant and suppress evidence, saying police illegally obtained the cocaine and Valium when they entered the room. His lawyer, Robert Waters, contends the anonymous 911 call was not enough evidence to warrant a search.

His lawyers also want to suppress Downey's statement that he allowed officers to search his room, and they're also challenging the legality of his Valium possession charge. Downey's lawyers contend the Valium was not illegal.

Not to mention Robert Downey Jr., an actor who appears to be in the process of hosing himself down into the gutter something fierce.

With all the awards he's won for his guest stint on AM (a dark sitcom that has become infinitely more darkly comic off the screen), Downey should be treading extra carefully so as not to screw the show that resuscitated his accolade-rich, albeit legally impaired, career.

(Courtroom FYI: R.D.J.'s attorneys were unable to arrange a plea bargain with Palm Springs prosecutors over the 36-year-old star's latest run-in with no-no substances; Downey's due back in court next month.)

But not everything ran smoothly during one of Downey's first days back last week on the Manhattan Beach set--according to AM sources, production had to shut down for at least one day, thanks to R.D.J.'s late-night activities.

Apparently Downey was having trouble with his lines and blocking, according to witnesses who were both concerned and exasperated by the ensuing delays (a common sweet 'n' sour reaction to working with the Oscar-nominated actor). R.D.J. seemed more than a little preoccupied during rehearsals, so he was approached by the director of that week's show, Adam Arkin (himself another resident of Retroland).

Grease is the word: When Arkin got "fed up with Robert's spaced-out behavior," said a pair of Ally loose lips, he questioned Downey about his distraction. Robert explained--get this--that he had visited In-N-Out Burger at midnight and was suffering from a bout of, well, let me just call it "intestinal distress."

The poor boy said his aching stomach was the reason he just couldn't concentrate. So, after a few minutes of heated discussion, Arkin sent his suffering star and the rest of the cast and crew home.

(That, my friends, is the closest thing you get to a snow day in Hell-Ay.)

"Yes, Robert was not feeling well," said a Fox spokesperson. "It was the last scene of the day, so the shoot ended early."

It's a true story," confirmed Downey's publicist. He added, "The lettuce is the killer."

Uh--excuse moi--am I missing something here in this last-last-last-ditch effort on Robert's part to resuscitate his raunchy rep? Is this guy really trying to live among the gainfully employed or just the ineptly enjoined?

No distress whatsoever: I've eaten approximately 36,263 of those beefy babies, and not once did I go crying to the Tall, Gruff Boss. In other words--diarrhea, my big, burgered butt.

Which is close to what everybody on the show (which has 911 on speed dial, thank you, Ms. Flockhart) thought as well. Why not just say the dog ate your script along with your pickles, Mr. Downey Jr.?