Baldwin’s bad act
LINCOLN BLVD. — Actor Daniel Baldwin, the second-oldest member of the celebrity Baldwin brothers, was arrested Tuesday morning for drug possession and driving a stolen vehicle, marking the second time this year the 46-year-old has been busted in Santa Monica on drug charges, police said.
SMPD Cpt. Alex Padilla could not confirm what type of illegal substance was found, however, in the prior arrest — which occurred April 22 just blocks from the latest incident — Baldwin was found to be in possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
Baldwin — the lesser known brother of Alec, Billy, and Stephen — pleaded no contest in May to being under the influence and for possession of a pipe used to smoke rock cocaine, both misdemeanors. He was ordered to attend a drug rehabilitation program and remain clean and sober for 18 months, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
Baldwin, who has appeared in more than 65 films and television movies — including “Born of the Fourth of July,” “Mulholland Falls” and “The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell” — has a history of drug use, having admitted in 1998 to having been hospitalized in “critical condition” after he was found in his hotel room suffering from a suspected drug overdose, according to the Internet Movie Database.
The latest incident occurred in the 2100 block of Lincoln Boulevard when officers on routine patrol spotted Baldwin leaving the Santa Monica Hotel around 11 a.m.,, Padilla said.
Officers ran the license plate number for the 2003 GMC Yukon that Baldwin was driving and determined the vehicle to be stolen. Officers stopped the actor for questioning and searched his hotel room, at which time they discovered narcotics, Padilla said.
Baldwin was transported to the Santa Monica Jail, where he was booked for the possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia. He was also booked for grand theft auto. His bail was set at $20,000.
In April, Baldwin was arrested at the Ocean Park Inn along with another man, Winston Anthony Hunter, 52, after police responded to the hotel following a complaint about loud noises coming from Baldwin’s room.
Police said they found Baldwin with a drug pipe in his hands and Hunter hiding in the bathroom. A “small amount of cocaine” was also recovered, police said.
When questioned by the officers, both men admitted to being high on illegal drugs and were arrested for possession of cocaine,possession of narcotic paraphernalia and being under the influence of narcotics, police said.
Baldwin spent the night in jail and was released the following day when he posted $10,000 bail. Hunter was on parole for a previous conviction, according to police, and was thus denied bail.
In 1998, the Baldwin black sheep admitted in an interview that he’d been battling cocaine addiction since beginning his career in Hollywood in the late 1980s.
“I never want to have to do this again,” he said about his overdose. “I don’t want to have to face my family like this again.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 8, 2006. Read the original PDF.