Brad Renfro

[Brian in Mesa]

Actor Brad Renfro Arrested in Drug Sting
Fri Dec 23, 2005

Actor Brad Renfro was arrested in a sting operation after he allegedly tried to buy heroin near downtown's Skid Row, police said.

Renfro, 23, was booked for investigation of felony attempting to possess heroin, Detective Ron Hodges said.

"He was intending to buy real heroin from an undercover officer," Hodges said.

Renfro, the star of the 1994 film "The Client," was caught during a random sting operation Thursday that resulted in the arrests of 14 other suspects, Hodges said.

Renfro's lawyer did not immediately return a call for comment placed after business hours Thursday.

The actor was charged in 1998 with possession of cocaine and marijuana, but avoided jail time in a plea deal.

He was sentenced to two years' probation in January 2001 on charges of trying to steal a yacht in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

He was arrested in May 2001 and charged with underage drinking. The next year, he was charged with driving without a license and public intoxication. Both violated terms of his probation. Renfro was ordered into an alcohol rehabilitation program in March 2002.

His movie credits include "Ghost World," "Bully" and "Apt Pupil."

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Man, I hope this guy gets the help he needs. Promising young actor who now appears mostly in court.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Actor Brad Renfro ordered into drug treatment

Actor Brad Renfro, former child star in such films as "The Client" and "Tom and Huck," was ordered into drug treatment program on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to charges of trying to buy heroin.

Renfro, 23, whose arrest in a skid-row drug sweep by undercover police was captured in a front-page picture of the Los Angeles Times, also was placed on three years probation, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

As a condition of his probation, Renfro must submit to random drug tests, spokeswoman Jane Robison said, adding that the actor is slated for another court appearance on March 6.

Renfro was one of 14 people arrested in a December 22 police sting operation aimed at cracking down on narcotics trafficking in the skid row section of Los Angeles.

A photograph of Renfro's arrest, showing the performer dressed in a military shirt, his pants pockets inside out and his hands being bound behind him, ran on the front page of the next day's Los Angeles Times.

It was the latest in a string of run-ins Renfro has had with law enforcement during the past several years, including an arrest for trying to steal a yacht in Florida in August 2000.

Renfro made his film debut at age 12 as a young boy who knew too much in the 1994 thriller "The Client," starring Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon, and gained notice the following year as the best friend of a young AIDS patient in "The Cure."

Also Thursday, the City Attorney's Office reported that comedian Tracy Morgan, a former cast member of "Saturday Night Live," pleaded no contest last Friday to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge stemming from a traffic stop in December.

Morgan, 37, who also starred in his own short-lived NBC sitcom, was placed on three years probation and was ordered to attend alcohol awareness classes, City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said.

The comedian, best known on "SNL" for his impressions of such celebrities as Cuba Gooding Jr., Della Reese and Louie Armstrong, was initially stopped for speeding on December 2 in Hollywood, Mateljan said.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Update: Renfro was recently arrested for his third DUI.