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Daniel Baldwin Cleared of Car Theft

Fri., Apr. 27, 2007 5:40 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Just as Alec Baldwin is being hung out to dry, Daniel Baldwin is off the hook.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office has dismissed all charges against the second-oldest Baldwin bro related to his alleged theft of a friend's SUV last fall, after the owner of the vehicle characterized the incident as a misunderstanding.

"After following up on statements that were provided to us by witnesses and the victim, we determined that the evidence didn't support us going forward with the case," said D.A. spokeswoman Farrah Emami.

Baldwin was arrested Nov. 7 outside a Santa Monica motel when cops, who had received an alert form the SUV's security system, spotted him climbing into a GMC Yukon that had been reported stolen.

He was charged with unlawfully taking a vehicle and receiving stolen property and arraigned in Newport Beach Criminal Court.

It was only after Baldwin had missed two court dates (once with approval from prosecutors, once without) that the Yukon's owner, Kenneth Smith, informed the D.A.'s office that he had known the actor for 20 years and that Baldwin had his permission to borrow the car anytime.

Smith, who lives in the O.C., even drove the former Homicide: Life on the Street star to court in February for a progress report hearing, where Baldwin's attorney, Grant Hoagland, said that his client had been sober for more than three months and was doing "exceptional."

"There always was permission," Hoagland told reporters. "Why they overreacted and filed on it is beyond me." He confirmed that there is now "absolutely nothing" pending against his client in the Orange County court system.

Other jurisdictions are another story, however.

Hoagland added that Baldwin is looking to have the drug-related charges against him, stemming from an April 2006 arrest for possessing cocaine-smoking paraphernalia and being under the influence, cleared from his record upon his successful completion of a drug-diversion program.

Baldwin, who has battled drug and alcohol addiction periodically over the last decade, will finish up his treatment in the next couple of months and the charges will be completely dismissed, Hoagland said.

"He's a lot more responsible and a lot more coherent," the lawyer said, noting the "drastic change" in Baldwin's behavior.

Baldwin, 46, most recently showed up on The Sopranos, playing himself and the Tony-inspired role of the doomed mob boss in Christopher's first foray into the horror-movie biz, Cleaver. He also completed work earlier this year on the indie horror film Little Red Devil, in which he plays the title character.