Indio Downey pleads guilty to drug felony; Robert Downey Jr. looks on

With father Robert Downey Jr. in the courtroom, Indio Downey pleaded guilty Friday to cocaine possession in a case stemming from his June arrest in West Hollywood.

The 21-year-old was sentenced to a drug-diversion program that could lead to the conviction being dismissed, the Associated Press reported.

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FOR THE RECORD

5:23 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said attorney Blair Berk made statements outside the courthouse. She did not.

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In accepting the guilty plea, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz told Indio Downey that he wasn’t getting any special treatment.

“I appreciate this opportunity and I intend to make the most of it,” Indio Downey told the judge at the Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles. Robert Downey Jr. did not speak, but nodded in agreement when Schwartz told his son to be careful in choosing his friends.

The “Iron Man” franchise star had a years-long struggle with drug addiction, spending time in jail and in prison before finally cleaning up his act in 2005 and reviving his frayed career.

“We’re grateful to the Sheriff’s Department for their intervention, and believe Indio can be another recovery success story instead of a cautionary tale,” the actor said in a statement after his son was arrested during a traffic stop in which police found cocaine and a pipe in his possession.

Attorney Blair Berk, who has also represented Mel Gibson, Kanye West, Kiefer Sutherland and other famous names, said in court that Indio Downey had already done 70 days in residential rehab and would stay there an additional 20 days.

A positive letter from the rehab facility impressed the judge, TMZ reported, noting that Indio can’t be around people who sell, buy or use drugs.

If Indio, a first-time offender in a nonviolent drug case, successfully completes the diversion program and stays out of trouble for 18 months, the conviction will be dismissed.

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