Tawny Kitaen's Cocaine Rap

Wed., Nov. 22, 2006 4:27 PM PST by Natalie Finn

Actress Tawny Kitaen, best known for a handful of '80s-era roles before supposedly clocking baseball-playing ex-hubby Chuck Finley with her high-heeled shoes, was rung up Tuesday on a felony drug charge.

Prosecutors said that the Bachelor Party bride-to-be is facing one count of possessing a controlled substance after police found 15 grams of cocaine in her apartment.

According to Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, deputies showed up at Kitaen's San Juan Capistrano, California, apartment to perform a "welfare check" on her and her two daughters with Finley, Wynter and Raine.

Police said that Kitaen was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time but that the children, ages 8 and 13, were home when officers arrived and found the cocaine.

Kitaen, 45, who's scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 18, is facing up to three years in prison if convicted. But, she can avoid hard time if she qualifies for a drug diversion program and enters rehab, O.C. District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Susan Schroeder said.

Whitesnake's favorite hood ornament previously pleaded guilty in 2002 to attacking Finley, then a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, in exchange for the court's dismissal of two misdemeanor spousal abuse charges. Kitaen agreed to attend anger management and conflict resolution counseling and donate $500 to a battered-women's shelter.

The case wasn't closed until October 2003, however, when Kitaen issued a written apology for saying in an interview on The Howard Stern Show that she had been forced into a guilty plea. The onetime music video muse also denied having a drug problem, which Finley had alleged in court documents and Kitaen later admitted, saying she had developed an addiction to prescription meds for depression and migraines.

Finley filed for divorce on Apr. 4, three days after he accused Kitaen of kicking him with her stiletto boots and viciously twisting his ear while the two were driving to their home in Newport Beach, California. The Louisiana-born southpaw, who also pitched for the then-California (and later Anaheim) Angels, finished off his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2002.

Kitaen was a cast member on the sixth season of The Surreal Life earlier this year, becoming perhaps the first person ever to yell at Mrs. Brady on camera.