Monday, 2 June 2008

Police arrest Tatum O'Neal on drug charges

The Oscar winner jailed overnight

Tatum O'Neal has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance

Tatum O'Neal was due to be arraigned in New York City Monday after police arrested her for allegedly buying crack cocaine near her home, according to authorities.

Police say the Paper Moon Oscar winner, 44, was seen making the illicit purchase at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. She was jailed overnight and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, the Associated Press and WNBC report.

Also reportedly arrested at the scene was a 33-year-old man, believed to be a dealer.

The New York Post reports that O'Neal, who appears regularly on the cable series Rescue Me, is said to have told officers, "You know who I am, right?" She also claimed she was "researching a part – I'm doing this for a part as a junkie."

In addition, she is quoted as telling detectives, "Can't we just forget about this?"

O'Neal, the daughter of actor Ryan O'Neal and the ex-wife of John McEnroe, told PEOPLE in 2002 that she was abandoned by a drug-abusing mother (actress Joanna Moore) at age 7 and began using drugs by 14 – moving eventually from marijuana, Quaaludes and cocaine to heroin.

O'Neal chronicled her struggles with addiction in her 2004 memoir, A Paper Life. The actress completed rehab in 1996 and claimed to be clean.

Authorities could not say if she had a lawyer, AP reports. Messages left for a publicist went unreturned.

By Stephen M. Silverman and Caris Davis