Sunday, August 15, 2010

Rip Torn request for probation denied by Conn. judge

Rip Torn, an Emmy Award-winning actor, could be heading to the jail house. His request for a special probation program was rejected Wednesday by a judge who ruled the charges are too serious to qualify the actor. Earlier this year in January, Rip Torn was arrested for breaking into a bank in Connecticut, armed and intoxicated.

Rip Torn is up against numerous criminal charges

Elmore Rual Torn, Jr., better known as Rip Torn, has had several alcohol-related troubles within the past. The latest drunken event took place in Salisbury, Conn., where Torn was arrested for allegedly breaking into a local branch office of Litchfield Bancorp during closing hours while loaded with a firearm without a permit. Police were quick to respond to an alarm that went off at the bank location. Inside the facility, they found the Men in Black actor wandering with a loaded .22-caliber pistol. According to court documents, Torn had a blood-alcohol level of 0.203, nearly three times the legal limit for drivers in Connecticut.

According to the Associated Press, Torn has pleaded not guilty to second-degree criminal trespassing, carrying a firearm when intoxicated, carrying a weapon without a permit and third-degree criminal mischief.

Rip Torn and other incidents related to alcohol

In January of 2004, Torn was arrested within the Big Apple after his vehicle crashed into a taxi. Aired on television news was an angry Rip Torn cursing at police officers and refusing to take a breathalyzer test. He was acquitted from all charges that year in October. Just two years later, in December of 2006, the actor crashed into a tractor trailer in North Salem, New York, and he was again arrested for drunk driving. He pleaded guilty, had his driver’s license revoked for 90 days and was ordered to pay a $ 380 fine.

No special treatment for Rip Torn

Unfortunately for Rip Torn, there is no special treatment for the Hollywood acting professional. Litchfield Superior Court Judge James Ginocchio has rejected his proposal, saying the charges placed on 79-year-old Torn are too significant to qualify him for the accelerated rehabilitation program. Torn was nevertheless in a court-ordered alcohol education program from a previous DUI charge at the time of the bank break-in, and that fact certainly doesn’t help his situation. His lawyer has requested a court-ordered evaluation of Torn’s alcohol dependency problems, and depending on the results, Torn could be ordered to go through a state-monitored treatment for up to two years before any charges might be dropped.

Further reading

Yahoo News

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100811/ap_on_en_tv/us_people_rip_torn_12



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