2 FELONY DRUG COUNTS VS. DOWNEY

LOS ANGELES -- Robert Downey Jr. was charged yesterday with two felony drug counts and a
misdemeanor stemming from the actor's Thanksgiving weekend arrest at a Palm
Springs, Calif., resort.

Downey, arrested four months after he was released from prison in
connection with another drug case, faces a maximum of six years in state
prison on the felonies and a year in county jail on the misdemeanor, if
convicted.

He could face an additional year's imprisonment because he has served a
prior state prison term, said Riverside County Assistant District Attorney
Sue Steding.

Downey, 35, was charged with felony possession of cocaine and the
tranquilizer diazepam, plus a misdemeanor charge of being under the
influence of a controlled substance.

He will plead innocent, according to his publicist, Alan Nierob. The
arraignment is set for Dec. 27.

Downey was arrested Nov. 25 after an anonymous 911 call led police
investigators to a room at Merv Griffin's Resort Hotel and Givenchy Spa --
where police allegedly found him with the drugs.

Three days later, Downey returned to work on the Fox-TV series "Ally
McBeal." He was signed to appear in 10 episodes, and Fox said yesterday it
expects him to complete the work before his court date.