Four of the Craziest Celebrity Arrests
Posted on Oct 8, 2018 in Celebrity Justice, Criminal Defense
Ah, lifestyles of the rich and the famous. The glitz, the glamor, the… crime? Check out our list below of four of the most outlandish celebrity arrests.
1. Matthew McConaughey
Before he was an Oscar-winning actor, Matthew McConaughey was arrested following a bizarre late-night incident that only adds to the mythos of the notoriously chill eccentric. In 1999, cops were called to McConaughey’s Texas home to investigate a late-night noise complaint.
Upon arrival, the cops found McConaughey totally nude and playing the bongo drums. He was arrested for drug possession and paraphernalia, though the charges were later dropped. He did have to pay a $50 fine for violating a noise ordinance.
In an interview with Playboy, McConaughey had this to say about the incident: “What’s wrong with beating on your drums in your birthday suit? I have no regrets about the way I got [arrested].”
Or said another way…
2. Randy Travis
In 2012, country music singer Randy Travis was arrested for drunk driving. Police arrived on the scene after Travis crashed his truck into a tree. He was twice the legal drinking limit.
Oh also, mysteriously, without explanation, Travis was completely nude when police arrived on the scene. Those Texas boys sure like to take their clothes off, I guess.
Police cam footage released after Travis’s arrest showed the singer berating the arresting officer, threatening and wishing death upon him. The officer takes Travis’s slurred threats in stride and laughs them off.
Travis was later sentenced to probation and rehab.
3. Winona Ryder
In a 2001 arrest that was highly publicized, Winona Ryder was arrested after shoplifting over $5000 worth of designer clothes and accessories from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills.
Following Ryder’s arrest there was much speculation about her mental state and potential drug use. Ryder disappeared from the spotlight for a number of years.
She was sentenced to three years of probation, plus hefty fines and community service.
Ryder has since returned to acting and the public eye, starring as one of the principle characters in the Netflix hit Stranger Things.
According to US Weekly, of her arrest Ryder said, “Psychologically I must have been at a place where I just wanted to stop. I won’t get into what happened, but it wasn’t what people think.”
Hmm, pretty mysterious, Winona. Regardless, one thing I do know is her Heathers character would have been proud.
4. Charles Barkley
Now here’s one almost too wild to be believed. Charles Barkley was pulled over by police officers one night in Arizona. The officer had seen Barkley run a stop sign before picking up an unknown woman.
When the officer questioned Barkley, the former NBA star admitted to having been drinking. In audio of the traffic stop Barkley speaks to the officer very politely and comes off as very cooperative.
Barkley goes on to tell the officer that the reason he’d ran the stop sign was because he was in a hurry to pick up the woman. And why was he picking up the woman? “You want the truth?” said Barkley, according to the police report. “I was going to drive around the corner and get a b**w job.”
Barkley was taken into the police station after failing a sobriety field test. During booking, the TNT analyst allegedly told one of the officers he would tattoo the officer’s name on his butt if he helped Barkley get out of the DUI.
To this day Barkley’s bare butt has not been seen in public.
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