`I HAVE NO EXCUSES'; DOWNEY GETS JAIL SENTENCE.Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services After a string of drug arrests and second chances, Robert Downey Jr. was slapped in handcuffs hand·cuff n. A restraining device consisting of a pair of strong, connected hoops that can be tightened and locked about the wrists and used on one or both arms of a prisoner in custody; a manacle. Often used in the plural. tr.v. and led off to jail Monday for violating probation by failing to stay clean and sober. The Oscar-nominated actor will serve 111 days at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility The Twin Towers Correctional Facility, also referred to in the media as Twin Towers Jail, is a complex erected in Los Angeles, California to house inmates of the Los Angeles County Courts. It is the world’s largest jail. in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , with a March 29, 1998, release date, said Deputy Henry Garza of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. . He will be in a single-person cell because of his celebrity status. ``You are going to lose your life in this drug-soaked life you have chosen,'' Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Municipal Judge Lawrence A. Mira told Downey before looking him in the eye and declaring: ``You're going to jail because you used drugs.'' Mira could have sentenced the 32-year-old actor to prison for three years - or allowed him to remain free in a drug treatment program. ``I am running out of ways to rehabilitate you,'' Mira said during the hearing, broadcast live on television. ``I'm going to incarcerate in·car·cer·ate tr.v. in·car·cer·at·ed, in·car·cer·at·ing, in·car·cer·ates 1. To put into jail. 2. To shut in; confine. you, and I'm going to incarcerate you in a way that's very unpleasant for you.'' The judge reinstated Downey's three years' probation and ordered him into a residential drug rehabilitation This article is about the process of rehabilitation for substance dependency. For other uses, see Rehab (disambiguation). For other kinds of rehabilitation, see Rehabilitation. For the American rap-rock group, see Rehab (band). program after he is released from County Jail. The actor was ordered back to court for an April 7 hearing. ``Sitting next to me is a very decent, loving, talented - to the point of genius - human being,'' defense attorney Michael D. Nasatir said of Downey, whose work in the 1992 film ``Chaplin'' got him an Oscar nomination. ``It's not like Mr. Downey is going to be holding up liquor stores or robbing banks,'' the lawyer said. ``He's been clean and sober for over 15 months. Four to five days he slipped. . . . That's all we have here, your honor, a slip.'' There was a hush in the courtroom when Downey stood up, put his hands behind his back and was handcuffed by a sheriff's deputy just a few feet away from about 10 family members and friends sitting nearby. ``I hope this works,'' the judge said. Downey, who shed tears during a halting statement to the court, nodded and smiled to his supporters as he was led away. ``I've been addicted to drugs in one form or another since I was 8 years old. ``I have no excuses. I find myself defenseless,'' he said. Downey noted he had attended a string of rehabilitation programs, including one for six months last year, and that while under care, ``It went well. It was fun. I stayed sober.'' But, he added, ``That's not the situation today. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. why, with this . . . fear of you, of death and of not being able to live a life free of drugs has not been enough,'' he said. Downey nodded in agreement when the judge said it might have been better for the actor if he'd been hauled into court earlier in his life. Downey was initially arrested in June 1996 after police stopped him for speeding on Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to:
CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Robert Downey Jr. awaits sentencing Monday in a Malibu courtroom Monday for breaking probation. Associated Press |
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