Downey May Get 6 Months in Rehab for Drug Arrest

Film and TV actor Robert Downey Jr. may spend six months in a residential drug treatment program for violating his parole in the wake of his arrest this week on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance, authorities said Wednesday.

Parole officials are considering a range of options, from stepping up Downey’s parole supervision to residential treatment, said Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections. Downey, 36, was released from state prison on parole last year after serving time for violating probation in a previous drug conviction.

Heimerich said Downey will not receive special treatment. “A parole violation does not necessarily mean a return to prison and many, many times that’s not what happens,” he said.

“This focuses us on the problems some parolees have in staying off drugs,” Heimerich said. “We see a lot of cases like this.”

Heimerich said authorities are leaning toward requiring residential treatment and will make their final decision in the coming weeks.

“We want a parolee to succeed,” Heimerich said. “We don’t want to lock them up.”

Downey is also required to appear in court next week to answer the citation he received after Culver City police spotted him in an alley behind a motel early Tuesday. Police said Downey appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance and led officers to a room in the motel where they arrested his friend, Alberto Aleixo, 45.

Downey checked into an undisclosed drug rehabilitation program after being released by police. His character is being written out of the season’s final episodes of the TV series “Ally McBeal,” in which he has appeared since last year. He won a Golden Globe in January for his role on the show.

Aleixo was turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department on an outstanding traffic warrant, then released on his own recognizance, said his attorney, Peter Knecht.

Court records show that Aleixo was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell last November. He has pleaded not guilty, and the case is pending.

Knecht said Aleixo is “an addicted person” and had the cocaine only for personal use. He has been friends with Downey--whom Knecht has also represented--for several years, the attorney said.

Downey also faces a court hearing Monday on another drug case in Palm Springs. He was arrested over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend after someone called 911, telling police there were illegal drugs in Downey’s hotel room. He has entered a not guilty plea on charges of possession of cocaine and diazepam, a tranquilizer, and being under the influence of a controlled substance.