Celebrity DWI News

Kiefer Sutherland is to be released from jail on Monday after serving 48 days on a drink-driving charge.

Sutherland spent his sentence cleaning sheets, pillowcases and blankets on laundry duty, police officer John Balian said, adding that the US actor was no problem during his time in jail.

The 41-year-old star of hit series 24 pleaded no contest at the end of last year to drunk driving. He was sentenced to 30 days for that crime and 18 days for violating probation from a 2004 drink-driving arrest. He was granted a request to serve his time in California's Glendale's jail rather than in the overcrowded Los Angeles County jail. In exchange for that, he could not receive any time off his sentence for good behavior

Labels: Kiefer Sutherland - 4th DWI + jail

Former TV host Gary Collins was released from jail Friday morning after completing a four-day sentence for a second DUI conviction.

Collins, 69, left the Glendale, Calif., facility – which also currently houses Kiefer Sutherland (who is due for release on Monday) – at 6:15 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Web site. Collins and Sutherland were not housed near one other.

The former Hour Magazine and Home Show host was busted for DUI after an accident in the San Fernando Valley on Oct. 23. More >>

Labels: Gary Collins - DUI + jail, Kiefer Sutherland - 4th DWI + jail

Fallen Yankee hero Jim Leyritz was hit with a second DUI charge Thursday for killing a young mom in a car wreck while he was allegedly bombed on booze.

Leyritz will be formally arraigned on Jan. 30 and faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted, authorities said.

The hard-hitting former catcher was initially charged with a single count of DUI-related manslaughter and one count of causing property damage for slamming his SUV into a vehicle driven by 30-year-old Fredia Ann Veitch after a night of celebrating his 44th birthday.

Prosecutors are expected to introduce into evidence a roadside videotape taken by a police dashboard camera. The video shows Leyritz failing sobriety tests after the Dec. 28 wreck left the mother of two dead, sources said.

A blood test taken three hours after the deadly crash showed that Leyritz still had nearly twice the legal amount of alcohol in his system, prosecutors said.

Leyritz has been released on $11,000 bond. He remained holed up yesterday in his Davie, Fla., home.

Labels: Jim Leyritz - DWI + fatality

Lindsay Lohan is about to see dead people. The 21-year-old actress will soon be working at a morgue as part of her punishment for misdemeanor drunken driving, her attorney, Blair Berk, told a judge Thursday.

She has also spent two months in rehabilitation and has done some community service, Berk said at a hearing on her progress toward fulfilling the terms of her plea bargain.

Her two four-hour days at the morgue are part of a court-ordered program to show drivers the real-life consequences of drinking and driving. She must also spend two days working in a hospital emergency room.

Lohan was arrested twice last year on DUI charges and pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor drunken driving and cocaine charges. She has already served 84 minutes in jail as part of the plea deal.

Labels: Lindsay Lohan - DUI

Veteran actor Gary Collins has turned himself in to California authorities to begin a 96-hour sentence after pleading guilty to drunk driving on 12-7-07.

Collins checked into Glendale City Jail on Monday, where he will find himself in good company - Kiefer Sutherland also is serving time at the jail following his driving under the influence (DUI) conviction on 9-8-07.

Gary Collins, 69, was handed the prison sentence in December following his October arrest after the actor crashed his black Ford Explorer into a blue Toyota while driving through Sherman Oaks, California.

In addition to his jailtime, Collins must complete 100 hours of community service. He was also fined $500 and will be placed on probation for four years.

Labels: Gary Collins - DUI + jail

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Brent Hawkins was arrested and charged with drunken driving after he was stopped for speeding on his way home from a night out.

The 24-year-old was arrested early Monday when deputies clocked him driving his 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe at 64 mph in a 45-mph zone, a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office report said.

He told deputies he had three vodka and orange juice drinks during the night, the report said. He also told the arresting deputy that he had a previous drunken-driving arrest in Illinois.

"I noticed while speaking to him that he had the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and that his eyes were bloodshot and watery," the arresting deputy wrote in the report.

Hawkins refused to take a breath test after he was brought to the Duval County Jail, a sheriff's spokesman said. Hawkins was released from jail later Monday.More >>

Labels: Brent Hawkins - DUI

The Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary, who was the co-writer of Pulp Fiction as well as Beowulf, was arrested and charged with manslaughter.

He was arrested on Monday morning under the suspicion of manslaughter, and driving under the influence.

The 42-year-old was the driver in a collision on Sunday shortly after midnight. The accident resulted in the death of a passenger. The passenger was a guest of Avary and his wife, Gretchen.

The passenger was in town, on a visit from Italy. The jaws of life had to be used to free the guest from the crash.

He died at the Ventura County Medical center

Labels: Robert Avary - DUI + Manslaughter

The Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary, who was the co-writer of Pulp Fiction as well as Beowulf, was arrested and charged with manslaughter.

He was arrested on Monday morning under the suspicion of manslaughter, and driving under the influence.

The 42-year-old was the driver in a collision on Sunday shortly after midnight. The accident resulted in the death of a passenger. The passenger was a guest of Avary and his wife, Gretchen.

The passenger was in town, on a visit from Italy. The jaws of life had to be used to free the guest from the crash.

He died at the Ventura County Medical center

Labels: Robert Avary - DUI + Manslaughter

Screenwriter Roger Avary (who shared the Oscar with Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction and co-wrote Beowulf with Neil Gaiman) apologized Monday for the car wreck that killed a friend and badly injured Avary's wife.

"Roger wishes to publicly convey his heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased," said a statement released by Avary's publicist Julie Polkes. "Words cannot express how sorry he is, and this tragic accident will always haunt him."

Arrested and booked on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony drunken driving after the accident at 12:34 a.m. Sunday in Ojai, Avary, 42, was released on $50,000 bail and due to be arraigned on Friday. More >>

Labels: Robert Avary - DUI + Manslaughter

Keifer Sutherland may have found out that it doesn't pay to drink and drive. Jailed after his 4th DWI arrest, Kiefer Sutherland mow has been released. The convicted drunk driver spent Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year's and his 41st birthday all have gone by during the time he spent doing laundry duty and being a golden star inmate at Glendale City Jail.

Sutherland, arrested in September for driving under the influence of alcohol, turned himself into an L.A. County courthouse on December 5th. The judge allowed him to spend his time in the city of Glendale instead of L.A. County Jail (said to be due to "overcrowding"). More >>

Labels: Kiefer Sutherland - 4th DWI + jail

Michelle Rodriguez, former star of the television series 'Lost', was released from jail after just 18 days on Thursday (January 10), after she was sentenced to 180 days in prison for violating her probation in a driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) case.

With a growing list of offenses to her name, Rodriguez commenced her sentence on December 23 after she was charged for failing to complete community service - despite signing a document stating that she had - that stemmed from a previous 2004 drunk-driving and hit and run offense.

Labels: Michelle Rodriguez - DUI + Hit and Run

Now, isn't this refreshing? Mischa Barton is actually taking responsibility for her DUI instead of placing the blame on someone else. The O.C. star is admitting she made a mistake on December 27th when she was pulled over behind the wheel and intoxicated. She spoke with Ryan Seacrest this morning on his radio show and gave her side of the story. Mischa Barton said, as quoted by E!, "Obviously, I'm 100 percent responsible for my actions in this case, and I'm really disappointed in myself. I don't know what to say about it except I'm not perfect. I just don't ever intend to do something this stupid again."

The stupidity that Mischa speaks of happened on the night of the 27th when the star was heading home from a night out with friends. She was pulled over in West Hollywood in her white Range Rover and was not only over the legal limit but driving without a license. Barton said, "It was the end of the night, and I just wanted to get my car home. I usually try not to get behind the wheel."

Barton was also in possession of marijuana and an as-yet-unrevealed controlled substance, a subject that apparently didn't come up on Ryan Seacrest this morning. They did note that Mischa Barton was very cooperative when she was arrested and spent seven hours behind bars before posting bail. Mischa Barton will be arraigned on February 28th.

Labels: Mischa Barton - DUI + Drug Possession

The woman being chased by Lindsay Lohan before the star's notorious driving under the influence (DUI) arrest last July wants her day in court.

According to papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in late December and obtained by the Associated Press, Tracie Rice was in a vehicle pursued by Lohan and driven by Michele Peck, the mother of Lohan's recently resigned assistant.

Rice is seeking damages amid claims that because of the pre-dawn incident she has had to shell out $7,000 in medical expenses, including those to a $175-per-visit therapist. She also says she lost her $60,000-per-year job. Rice says that $3,500 has been spent with the therapist in dealing with her residual terror from the DUI chase. She also saw a physician, a chiropractor and a pharmacist – and paid roughly $150 for prescriptions. An additional $2,000 was said to be paid in miscellaneous expenses.

Rice states she thought she was being carjacked when an SUV, driven by Lohan, pursued her and Peck at high speed, putting the two of them "at extreme risk of death or injury," until they made it to the Santa Monica police station and were greeted by officers with guns drawn. More >>

Labels: Lindsay Lohan - DUI

C-list HBO actor Austin Nichols pleaded guilty Thursday to drinking and driving in downtown Jackson, MS in August.
Nichols, who was staying with family at Clark Lake last summer, pleaded by mail to misdemeanor operating while visibly impaired.

District Judge Joseph Filip fined him $1,000. The fine was paid and the case is closed, Filip said.

City police stopped Nichols at 2:30 a.m. Aug. 24. Officers said he was driving a Mercury Mountaineer the wrong way on Louis Glick Highway. More >>

Labels: Austin Nichols

Former New York Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz stayed silent as he left a meeting with criminal defense attorney David Bogenschutz Thursday night.

Bogenschutz has represented some big names in high-profile cases including former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne.

Bogenschutz said he was only retained a day before, and will be giving more insight into his plans to defend the DUI and manslaughter charges against Jim Leyritz. Police say Leyritz was drunk when he crashed into Fredia Veitch's SUV in Fort Lauderdale. The wife and mother of two from Plantation was killed.

Bogenshutz said, "The only thing I can say on behalf of Jim is his condolences have already been indicated in the press, at a time when I did not represent him, to the family. I don't think his sentiments have changed one iota." More >>

Labels: Jim Leyritz - DWI + fatality, Lawyering up

MADD has slammed Jack Osbourne for describing Mischa Barton's DUI arrest as "no big deal".

Barton was booked for driving under the influence, possession of illegal narcotics and driving without a valid licence in West Hollywood in the early hours of December 27.

Osbourne shrugged off the incident, saying: "Everyone gets DUIs... but you only hear about it when celebrities get them. It is a big deal but it's not a big deal, just a slap on the wrist."

MADD lashed out at Osbourne for playing down the importance of behaving responsibly.

Campaigner Chuck Hurley (a FADD?) said in response, "Drunk driving is not a rite of passage but it does seem as though some high profile celebrities in Hollywood and in professional sports think it is.

Labels: Jack Osbourne, Mischa Barton - DUI + Drug Possession

This TMZ photo is of drunk driving and drug possession arrestee Mischa Barton leaving Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills the day after New Year's. One only can imagine for what she was praying.

Labels: Mischa Barton - DUI + Drug Possession

The CatHouse Loungerie has opened at Las Vegas' Luxor Hotel despite the notable absence of its scheduled host, actress Mischa Barton.

While Barton originally had been scheduled to serve as the celebrity host of the grand opening, her recent arrest for alleged drunken driving forced her to drop out. Mischa was taken into custody Sunday on suspicion of DUI, but was also booked for possession of narcotics and driving with a suspended license.

Following her arrest, Barton canceled an appearance at the opening of Cathouse at the Luxor hotel on Saturday night. More>>