By Edith Honan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oscar-winner Tatum O'Neal, the former
child actress who chronicled her struggles with addiction in a
2004 memoir, has been arrested on suspicion of buying drugs on
the streets of New York City.
A judge released her on her own recognizance on Monday
after she spent the night in jail and she was ordered to return
on July 28. O'Neal, 44, appeared without makeup, her hair tied
into a messy bun, wearing a black tank top and black pants.
O'Neal, who was charged with criminal possession of a
controlled substance, rejected a deal that would have sentenced
her to a two-day drug treatment program in exchange for a
guilty plea for disorderly conduct, prosecutors said.
She will enter a plea at her July court date.
The New York Daily News reported she was caught buying
crack cocaine from a homeless street vendor on Sunday night
three blocks from her home.
A police spokesman said she was seen buying a controlled
substance from a man in Manhattan's Lower East Side, once a
crime-infested neighborhood that has become trendy.
O'Neal's publicist declined to comment and her lawyer left
the courtroom without speaking to reporters.
The Daily News, citing unnamed police sources, reported
that O'Neal first told police she was "doing research for a
part" and changed her story after police searched her and found
a bag of crack, a bag of regular cocaine and an unused crack
pipe.
