Actor Robert Downey Jr. pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of drug possession stemming from his arrest last month in a Palm Springs hotel.
During the arraignment hearing in a courtroom in Indio, about 300 kilometers east of Los Angeles California, the judge rejected a request from Downey's lawyer for more time, and the plea was entered.
The 35-year-old actor is accused of single felony counts of cocaine and Diazepam possession, and one misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Last August, Downey was granted an early release from state prison, where he had been incarcerated for about a year for probation on drug arrests dating back to 1996.
On November 25 he was arrested at a Palm Springs hotel by police acting on a tip.
Downey was later nominated for a Golden Globe for his work on the hit television sitcom Ally McBeal.
The weekend after his arrest, the actor, who was nominated for an Oscar for the title role in the 1992 movie Chaplin, was reported to have briefly checked himself into a psychiatric hospital for treatment of depression.
The next hearing in the case is January 29, 2001. – AFP.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
