ACTOR ROBERT DOWNEY JR. FACES NEW DRUG CHARGES

PALM SPRINGS (AP) -- Actor Robert Downey Jr. was arrested again for drug
possession and probation violation nearly three months after gaining an
early release from prison and relaunching his career on "Ally McBeal,"
police said Sunday.

An anonymous caller led investigators to a room at the Merv Griffin Resort
about 9 p.m. Saturday, where they found Downey alone with cocaine and
methamphetamine, Palm Springs police officer Ralph Landry said.

"He was conscious and conversed with the officers," Landry said. "He was
very cooperative."

Downey, 35, was arrested on charges of drug possession, being under the
influence of a controlled substance and committing a felony while free on
bail, Landry said.

The actor was released Sunday morning on $15,000 bail. He is scheduled to
face the charges in court within 30 days, Landry said.

Downey could not be reached for comment. Messages left by the Associated
Press at the offices of his agent were not immediately returned Sunday.

Of his drug addiction, Downey told a judge in 1999: "It's like I've got a
shotgun in my mouth, with my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of
the gun metal."

Downey's legal troubles date to June 1996 when he was stopped for speeding
on Pacific Coast Highway and authorities found cocaine, heroin and a pistol
in his vehicle.

A month later he was found passed out on a child's bed in a neighbor's
home. Three days later, he was arrested for leaving a recovery center.

He was jailed in August 1999 after he admitted during a probation hearing
that he was missing scheduled drug tests. Superior Court Judge Lawrence
Mira sentenced him to three years in prison for violating his probation.

Downey was released from prison early last August on $5,000 bail after the
California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled he had served enough time to
fulfill his three-year sentence.

The son of film director Robert Downey earned an Oscar nomination for his
work in the title role in "Chaplin," the 1992 screen biography of the famed
comedian. Other film credits include "Less Than Zero," "Natural Born
Killers," "One Night Stand," "Two Girls and a Guy" and "U.S. Marshals."

Since his prison release, Downey has had a recurring role on the Fox
television series "Ally McBeal." He also planned in January to star in a
Los Angeles stage run of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," to be directed by fellow
actor Mel Gibson.