New Details Emerge in Downey Case

Arrest report: Actor told police he was on anti-depressants and Valium; Monday court date postponed

By Mark Armstrong Apr 27, 2001 11:00 PMTags
When police stopped Robert Downey Jr. Tuesday morning in a run-down Culver City alley, the troubled actor denied he was high on illegal narcotics. But he instead claimed he was taking anti-depressants and Valium to cope with a recent custody battle over his 7-year-old son, according to an arrest report obtained Friday by E! News Daily.

Downey purportedly smelled of alcohol and "could not keep still," constantly licking his lips and sweating, despite the relatively cool weather. Pupils dilated, Downey "rambled on without any questions being addressed to him," police reported, leading them to suspect he was actually under the influence of a stimulant.

The Ally McBeal costar was then arrested--his second bust since getting freed from prison last year, and just one more painful development for the addiction-plagued actor.

More details emerged Friday regarding Downey's run-in, not to mention the subsequent arrest of Albert Aleixo, a 45-year-old "friend" whom Downey told police he was visiting at the nearby Baldwin Motel.

According to the arrest report filed by Culver City police, Downey--dressed in a dark overcoat and emitting a "strong odor of an alcoholic beverage"--repeatedly denied that he had been taking an illegal narcotic, insisting he had been clean since his arrest at the Merv Griffin Resort in Palm Springs last November.

But the actor did acknowledge he was taking Selegiline (an anti-depressant) and Diazepam (otherwise known as Valium), because of recent developments involving his son, Indio. (According to published reports, Downey and his estranged wife, Deborah Falconer, are currently locked in a custody battle over the child.)

As the officer patted him down, Downey repeatedly tried to turn around, according to the arrest report. Eventually, the officer had to grab his arms and press him against the patrol vehicle.

"While speaking with him, I then noticed that his speech was rapid," the officer reported, "he interrupted me on several occasions and rambled on without any questions being addressed to him. I also noticed that while I was speaking to him, he constantly shifted his position and could not keep still."

Police later interviewed a cab driver who reportedly picked up Downey from Malibu Colony at about 11 p.m. and drove him to the Culver City area. Downey allegedly asked the driver to keep the meter running, and wait for him to return. He then disappeared into the alley.

When asked why he was there, Downey told police he was visiting Aleixo at the Baldwin Motel. Officers later arrested the man at his motel room. Aleixo's lawyer told Reuters that the incident "isn't going to affect their 10-year friendship."

Downey, meanwhile, had no cash on him when he was arrested, and the Golden Globe winner voluntarily submitted to a urine test before eventually getting released to his parole officer and sent to detox. State corrections officers now say Downey will likely spend the next six months at a residential treatment facility.

As for Downey's still-pending drug case in Palm Springs, prosecutors in Riverside County said Friday that Downey's Monday court hearing will be postponed. The actor's lawyers will still appear in an Indio, California, courtroom Monday to reschedule.

Tamara Capone, deputy District Attorney for Riverside County, says the hearing was delayed by Downey's recent return to rehab, and because one of Capone's investigating officers is currently out of the country.

She also said Downey's arrest in Culver City Tuesday "doesn't really have any bearing on his case in Palm Springs." But that could change, she said, depending on whether Downey's parole officers keep him in rehab or send him back to prison (which state corrections officials say isn't likely). "We'll just have to go from there and see how it affects our case," Capone said.

Capone would not comment, however, on whether she will still seek jail time for Downey.