Sam Shepard Arrested On Suspicion Of Drunk Driving

Sam Shepard, the noted actor and playwright, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday night.

Sam Shepard Arrested

Shepard, 71, was stopped by police officers after having a couple of tequila drinks at a local Santa Fe restaurant called La Choza.

Shepard had drawn the attention of restaurant security at around 7:45 p.m. Monday when he was trying to exit the parking lot. Attempting to drive his pickup truck, Shepard neglected to release the vehicle’s emergency brake. When police arrived, Shepard refused to take a breathalyzer test. He then failed his field sobriety test, and was subsequently arrested on a charge of aggravated driving while intoxicated.

Throughout his storied career, Shepard has openly battled alcoholism. After being in an out of AA, Shepard was arrested for drunk driving in Normal, Ill., in 2009. The actor pleaded guilty to both speeding and drunk driving.

“For a long time I didn’t think I had a problem,” Shepard told the Paris Review in 1997. “Until I confronted it I wasn’t aware that it was creeping up on me. I finally did AA in the hardcore down on Pico Boulevard [in Los Angeles]. I said, ‘Don’t put me in with Elton John or anything, just throw me to the lions.’”

Shepard’s film credits include Baby Boom, Steel Magnolias, Black Hawk Down, The Notebook and August: Osage County. He earned an Oscar nomination for The Right Stuff. As a playwright, Shepard won the Pulitzer Prize for his play Buried Child and has seen his play True West receive numerous revivals.