Redmond O’Neal pleads not guilty to drug charge

Redmond O’Neal, son of actor Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett, pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing heroine and having a handgun following his arrest earlier this week in a routine traffic stop.

It was the latest trouble for O’Neal, 26, who has battled drug dependency in the past and who saw his mother die after a long, public battle with cancer in 2009.

O’Neal, 26, was arrested on 2 August after he ran a red light while driving. Police searched his car and found heroine and marijuana.

After his arrest, police searched O’Neal’s home and discovered a handgun, which he is not allowed to possess because he is still on probation for a 2009 drug conviction.

Back then, he was ordered to spend one year in a drug treatment program and given three years probation.

O’Neal is currently being held in jail without bail pending a 24 August hearing for probation violation.

Outside the Los Angeles courthouse on Thursday, Ryan O’Neal told People magazine that “he never recovered from the loss of his mother”.