Cameron Douglas Jailed Following House Arrest Smuggling Incident

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 05:10:06 PM EST
Tags: Cameron Douglas (all tags)

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How did Cameron Douglas, charged with trafficking in multi-pound quantities of crystal meth, carrying penalties of 10 years to life, get released on a bond the conditions of which were home detention at his mother's New York apartment where he would be watched by a private security guard company?

It may not matter now. He's been transferred to the Metropolitan Correction Center for violating the terms of his bond.

His girlfriend, Kelly Sott, brought Cameron an electric toothbrush filled with heroin to his mother's apartment. Cameron had requested the toothbrush.

Sott is now charged with multiple offenses and has been ordered detained without bond. She has a court-appointed lawyer. The judge also ordered medical treatment for her as her lawyer advised she's a heroin user. The complaint against Sott is here (pdf). [More...]

And what's up with the court's PACER docket? There's no entry for Cameron Douglas even having a bond revocation hearing, and for Kelly Sott, none of the documents are hyperlinked for PACER users. Nor is there any indication the documents have been sealed.

I complained last week about the lack of access to documents regarding Douglas.

What's odd is that Douglas seems to have disappeared. There's no entry on the docket for a bond hearing or court appearance. Three lawyers have entered their appearance for him. Neither the lawyers nor the feds will comment.

According to Reuters, he appeared in court the day after his arrest. But no further court hearing was set. Even when proceedings are sealed, there's a notation on the docket to a sealed document.

Did he get special treatment by being allowed to enter a private residential drug treatment program after his arrest but before charges were filed against him? It seems to me the Government would seek pre-trial detention for anyone else charged with these offenses.

Maybe they are cleaning Douglas up or protecting him so he can help the DEA bust his suppliers to get out from under the mandatory minimum sentence.

Now it turns out he was granted a bond with home detention but there's no mention of it on the court docket sheet. Somehow the gossip sites are getting the documents but why isn't the docket being updated in a timely fashion and why aren't the documents available to anyone else?

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Cameron Douglas Jailed Following House Arrest Smuggling Incident | 17 comments (17 topical)

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How many rehab attempts do you (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by Anne on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 06:20:14 PM EST

suppose Douglas has been through? I'm guessing there have been many attempts to treat his addiction, just because he comes from a family that can afford the best as often as it's needed.

What do you do about the individual who, in spite of every clinical effort to get them clean and sober, seems unable to stay that way? Do you just keep him or her supplied with drugs for the rest of his or her life, much as you would supply a diabetic with insulin? I think there's an argument for that approach, but I have no idea how it could ever be an option in this country. For one, what incentive would there be for addicts to get clean? So, aren't you then at the point where you legalize all these substances, much as alcohol and cigarettes are legal, with some restrictions on age, and control of sale and distribution? Those who can't handle it will, I guess, get help, just as alcoholics do, and everyone else will just do their thing.

Something's gotta give.

Robert Downey Jr (none / 0) (#5)
by Inspector Gadget on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 07:24:59 PM EST

Seemed hopeless to some.

From all I've read, it takes more than a couple of attempts to rid oneself of any addiction. This appears to be a particularly ferocious one.

I don't know how many attempts he's made, but I noticed on MSN this morning, the "headline" was Girlfriend of Michael Douglas' son arrested. How hard do you think it has been on him to have no identity of his own?


Downey went to prison. (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by caseyOR on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 10:00:09 PM EST

He made multiple trips to rehab in addition to his time behind bars. And he blew more than one chance to save his career (remember his brilliant but brief turn on "Ally McBeal"? He lost that job because he started using again). He is very lucky. A lesser talent would not now be getting acting jobs.


: Yes, he sure did (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by Inspector Gadget on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 10:36:40 PM EST

He was my example for how long and hard the battle out of drugs can be.

Oh, I'm not saying it isn't sometimes (none / 0) (#7)
by Anne on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 07:53:32 PM EST

a long process with many setbacks; I have family members who have struggled with addiction, so I know, believe me.

If it were just a case of addiction, of using, we wouldn't be having this conversation, because Douglas probably would not have come to the attention of law enforcement. But he took it to the next level, and addiction or no, he has to face those consequences.

As for his lack of identity, we all have our crosses to bear, all have suffered the slings and arrows life and our loved ones dish out, intentionally or not, and we don't all end up addicts, but that just lends support to the disease aspect, I think.

Complex problem, no question, and as I think Will Rogers may have said, there's always a simple answer to a complex problem, and it's usually wrong.


Addiction (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by Steve M on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 06:23:37 PM EST

can force people to do many awful things, but I don't think addiction can be blamed for the girlfriend's decision to bring heroin to her boyfriend in violation of her house arrest.

I figure everyone has the right to screw up their own life, but that doesn't mean you have to help other people screw theirs up as well.

: I don't think it is that simple Steve... (none / 0) (#19)
by kdog on Thu Aug 13, 2009 at 09:55:15 AM EST

assuming the girlfriend loves her beau, one could argue giving him a fix was an act of compassion. Withdrawal is nasty nasty business...to see a loved one suffering is not an easy thing, I wouldn't judge the girlfriend too harshly.
Sh&t I've bought an alcoholic a drink to fight off the withdrawal sickness...it wasn't easy on the conscience but I can live myself...the alternative was a loved one suffering and/or hurting themselves or others getting their fix on their own...a real rock and a hard place man.

There must be (none / 0) (#4)
by NYShooter on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 07:16:02 PM EST

something wrong with the lady. Did she really believe they wouldn't thoroughly search anything brought to the young man?

: Sure. (none / 0) (#6)
by Fabian on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 07:40:54 PM EST

She's mentally ill. She suffers from a mental illness called addiction.

Pounds of crystal meth (none / 0) (#8)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 07:55:00 PM EST

It's one thing to be an addict. It's another to be a risk taker.

I suspect Cameron is one of those people who would be an extreme skiier, but instead is an extreme meth dealer.

I guess people who have no challenge in their lives need to find a challenge. Maybe drug trafficing -- without being caught -- was his challenge.

The curse of being rich.

Yeah, it's kind of hard to get past (5.00 / 0) (#9)
by Anne on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 08:06:53 PM EST

the pounds of product, isn't it? As much as I believe in the disease aspect of addiction, it isn't a Get Out of Jail Free card.


Not really (5.00 / 3) (#12)
by nycstray on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 09:01:29 PM EST

It's a source of income and drugs (which balances the income need). Consider the background life before addiction kicked in. Also consider that some addicts don't want to live on the streets, but want to maintain a "lifestyle". My niece lived that life. She was an addict, but lived with other addicts, producers, dealers. Roof over head, etc. Money for "lifestyle" etc. I can easily imagine this son, who was born into wealth and "fame", running with a "fast" crowd and going into a similar but more highly charged life, similar to my niece's. I firmly believe they need mental health and addiction help. They may still need to do time depending, but I think we need to get to the root of the problem first. And perhaps require that addiction intervention by the courts is much more thorough. It's not a 90day problem.


He had a movie career (none / 0) (#13)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 09:18:06 PM EST

so he had another income source. He was dropped from a picture he was going to do when he was arrested.

I really believe it was the risk taking behavior, or a feeling of invincibility that comes with fame. It's Paris Hilton's belief that it was fine to drive with a suspended lisence (something Joe middle class would never believe) but it ws taken a whole lot further in his case.

And yes, I'm classist toward the rich. I don't cut people much slack for such things when they have every opportunity in the world and they blow it. People who had no opportunities and are in the same lousy boat deserve my sympathy though.


: You think it's fame? (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by Inspector Gadget on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 09:31:24 PM EST

I think it's dysfunction and that emotional abuse is much more likely to be the push into risky behavior than fame is. Far more famous people do not engage in criminal behavior than do.

: When addiction takes over, (5.00 / 2) (#15)
by nycstray on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 09:38:46 PM EST

that movie career is secondary. If he's getting dropped from pictures, what do you think is motivating him? Not the love of the art, imo.
And yes, Joe Middle Class does drive with a suspended license. All. The. Time.
This isn't about money or opportunity. It's about addiction.

Maybe (none / 0) (#10)
by Fabian on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 08:10:31 PM EST

he should have taken up BDSM or something more private if he liked to live on the wild side.

I think the odds are better that he ended up hanging with a crowd that made dealing meth seem almost mundane. When a lot of people you know use and you know a few who sell, then somehow selling to some of your friends and the friends of your friends may not seem like a big deal.


My solution remains the same (none / 0) (#11)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 08:15:18 PM EST

make MJ, heroin and coke legal and give it away to addicts. Just have'em register at their local drugstore and give'em all they want for personal use.

Now if they sell it, to anyone, 20 years first offense.

Would be cheaper and more humane than what we have now.