CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES

Redmond O’Neal, son of actors Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett, was arrested Sunday on charges of trying to smuggle drugs into a county jail.

The arrest came during a routine security check in the parking lot of Pitchess Detention South Facility in Santa Clarita about 9:30 a.m., said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. O’Neal, 24, had apparently gone to the facility to visit an inmate. He told deputies before the search began that he had drugs on him, Whitmore added.

He was taken into custody, and bail was set at $25,000, according to the sheriff’s website. It was not known whether O’Neal had posted bail.

“This case shows how difficult it is to break the apparent cycle of chemical dependence,” Whitmore said. He did not say what type of narcotic O’Neal was allegedly carrying.

O’Neal has crossed the law several times in the past, most recently last fall when he and his father were charged with felony drug possession. Authorities conducting a search at Ryan O’Neal’s Malibu home reportedly found methamphetamine in the 67-year-old actor’s bedroom and on the younger O’Neal.

Redmond O’Neal at the time was on probation after a guilty plea in June to felony drug possession and misdemeanor driving under the influence. The charges stemmed from his arrest while driving in Malibu carrying heroin and methamphetamine. His plea allowed him to avoid jail time. He was sentenced to three years’ probation and $1,688 in fines for the DUI charge.

-- Andrew Blankstein and Joel Rubin