THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Actor Robert Downey Jr. has avoided prison time. Downey was sentenced three years probation today, after entering a no contest plea to drug possession charges. We get the latest now from CNN's Paul Vercammen in Indio, California.
And sadly, Paul, it seems like it's just becoming a typical scene, seeing Robert Downey Jr. go before a judge.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hopefully not for him. He continues the streak however. He's never testified in any of these cases that he's been involved in. And today that streak continued as he entered the no contest plea to felony possession of cocaine and a misdemeanor charge of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Now, at his all stems from his arrest last Thanksgiving weekend up the road in Palm Springs, California at a luxury hotel.
As you stated, the judge said this is not a gift. They do not consider it one. But as he gave him probation and one more year -- at least a year in a live-in treatment facility, one that he has been already at -- he told Downey that he is not to associate with any known drug users or drug dealers, and basically, he is to stay completely clean and sober or he could wind up in prison. Clearly, Downey's attorney was rather ecstatic with the fact that he will not be doing any jail time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES EPSTEIN, DOWNEY ATTORNEY: He's in great spirits. He's very motivated to overcome the problem he has and we're all very encouraged.
QUESTION: You know he's been in drug treatment several times before. What makes you think it will work this time?
EPSTEIN: You never know, but this is a severe problem. He's very motivated; he's never been this motivated before. And I don't think he's ever had this competent help before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: Well, under the spirit of Proposition 36, which was passed in California, they have called for less serious sentences, no prison time, for drug offenders, nonviolent drug offenders. And the prosecutor in this case says that Downey was given no special treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMARA CAPONE, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We didn't give him a break. As I've said, he's probably the 25th person that has been sentenced under this proposition in our county. It's something new. It's something, as a prosecutor, I have had to change my way of thinking, because a year ago he would have gone to prison for something like this. But because of the new law, his background doesn't disqualify from it. His current actions doesn't disqualify him from it. So there's nothing else I could have done, no matter who he was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: So without Proposition 36 and another scenarios, had they been very aggressive, he could have received more than four years in prison. As things wind their way down here, the end of a long chapter in the saga of Robert Downey Jr., he is now, as they said, sentenced to three years probation and will continue his treatment at a live-in 24-hour round-the-clock center in Malibu, California.
Whether or not that year goes from July to July or May to May, which is when he entered that facility, remains to be seen. The prosecutor will gauge how well he is faring with his rehabilitation progress. And his parole agent has said he thinks that Downey is doing very well, and is very committed this time to riding his ship.
Now back to you in Atlanta.
ALLEN: OK. We'll watch it and see. Thank you so much, Paul Vercammen in Indio, California, with that story today.
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