Police involved in the arrest of actor Robert Downey Jr. have asked that he be charged on various drug-related counts, rported Mr. Showbiz on Wednesday December 6, 2000.
Authorities with California's Palm Springs Police Department filed a case against the 35-year-old star on Friday, December 1, asking the Riverside County District Attorney's Office to file five charges, the Palm Springs Desert Sun reports: possession of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, possession of Valium, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and committing a felony while on bail.
If Downey is convicted, he could face more than six years in jail. "We're in the process of reviewing [the case], and we don't expect a decision until next week," Riverside County Assistant District Attorney Sue Steding told the New York Daily News.
On Nov. 25, police received a 911 call from an anonymous male source who claimed there was a man with cocaine and "a couple of guns" in the hotel room where Downey was staying at Merv Griffin's Resort Hotel. Officers allegedly found cocaine and methamphetamine in Downey's suite and arrested him. No weapon was found at the scene.
Downey, who was released on $15,000 bail Nov. 26, is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 27 in Indio, Calif.
Officers are still searching for the mystery caller who tipped them off, hoping to confirm with the individual that the drugs found in Downey's room do not belong to one of the visitors he reportedly received that night. Police said they have determined that the caller used a pay phone outside a local grocery store.
The actor's latest arrest came just three months after Downey was freed from prison, where he'd served a year for a previous drug conviction. He was released when an appeals court ruled that there had been a sentencing error in his case.
Before Downey's most recent incident, the California State Supreme Court had denied a request by prosecutors to review the ruling that led to the actor's Aug. 2 release.
Downey's attorney, Robert Waters, said this ruling means that Downey was no longer on bail at the time of his arrest, which would negate one of the current charges requested by police officials.
The actor is currently a guest star on the hit TV show, Ally McBeal and was scheduled to begin rehearsals for actor Mel Gibson, who is set to produce a theater production of Hamlet. – Albawaba.com.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
