Dec 30, 2005 9:58 am US/Pacific
Brad Renfro Arraignment Postponed Until Jan. 18
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
Actor Brad Renfro was due in a downtown courtroom this morning to be arraigned on a charge of attempted possession of heroin. But it's just been announced that the arraignment has been postponed to Jan. 18. The reason is that the 23-year-old Renfro has entered a drug rehab program. In the meantime, he remains out of custody on $10,000 bail.
Renfro was among 14 people arrested in a drug sting on Skid Row last week. Police say he was apologetic after his arrest and admitted having a drug problem. His film credits include "The Client," "Sleepers" and "Tom and Huck."
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner James Bianco allowed Renfro to remain free on $10,000 bail.
"The court finds good cause not to forfeit bail at this time," Bianco said.
Outside the courtroom, Renfro's attorney, Richard Kaplan, said his client is "doing fine" in the rehab program.
"This is nothing unusual," Kaplan said.
Kaplan's request for a delay in the arraignment was not opposed by Deputy District Attorney Thomas McGowan, who joined Kaplan and Bianco for a brief conference at the bench before the commissioner approved the postponement.
The 23-year-old Renfro was apologetic after his Dec. 22 arrest and admitted having a drug problem, Los Angeles police Lt. Paul Vernon said last week.
Renfro, whose film career began when he was 12, has appeared in the films "The Client," "Sleepers " and "Tom and Huck," playing Huck Finn.
Renfro struck a plea bargain on cocaine and marijuana charges in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1998 and agreed to undergo random drug screening. He was also placed on probation in Fla. in 2001 in connection with an attempt to steal a yacht, according to the Internet Movie Database.
During a span of a few hours Dec. 22, six undercover narcotics officers from the LAPD's Central Station sold balloons filled with fake heroin to people looking to buy the drug at Sixth and Spring streets, police said.
"More heroin is sold around the Skid Row area than all other places in California combined," Los Angeles police Capt. Andy Smith said after the sting.
Police arrested 14 people, including Renfro, for allegedly attempting to buy heroin, police said. Another person was arrested for selling real heroin to an undercover officer.
The arrests were part of a campaign against drug dealing on Skid Row by city and state officials. The effort also includes increasing criminal penalties for drug trafficking on Skid Row and establishing a community court that can quickly adjudicate criminal cases.
(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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