Santa Barbara Police DepartmentLooks like the "concerned citizen" who ratted out Heather Locklear for driving erratically last September may have been justified.
The Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office has confirmed that, after a lengthy investigation, the former Melrose Place star has been formally charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of drugs stemming from her Sept. 27 roadside arrest. (View the complaint.)
"It was prescription medications only...For privacy reasons I cannot say which prescriptions they were," Senior Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter tells E! News, adding that there were "no alcohol or illegal narcotics of any kind" in Locklear's system at the time of her bust.
Carter also warned that Locklear would be held accountable regardless of whether she had a valid prescription and even if the bottle did not include a warning not to take the medication while driving.
"If you are taking a prescription medication and it affects you such that you are no longer safe to operate a motor vehicle, you could be violating the law. It's an individual thing."
The 47-year-old Locklear was pulled over after California Highway Patrol got a phone tip from a woman who just happened to be a former Us Weekly reporter.
Locklear was originally arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance.
Her arraignment on the charge has been set for Jan. 26.
(Originally published Nov. 17, 2008 at 11:47 a.m. PT.)