McConaughey Faces the Music

Thursday December 17, 1998 12:00 AM EST

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Drug charges against Matthew McConaughey, 29, have been dropped, but the actor still faces a misdemeanor charge stemming from an altercation in his suburban Austin, Texas, home. McConaughey -- who first came to the public's attention in the 1993 movie "Dazed and Confused" and then went on to star in "A Time To Kill," "Contact" and "EdTV" -- was released from jail Monday afternoon on $1,000 bond. "I don't want to rent a place there, but it was a nice stay for a night," McConaughey said.

• Police say they were called to McConaughey's home early Monday after receiving a complaint of loud music and through a window saw him sitting naked, playing the bongos, while another man danced and clapped. Officer Michael Olson said that he entered the actor's house and smelled "a faint odor of marijuana," and then found a pipe and a shallow bowl containing marijuana stems and seeds. An altercation ensued, and McConaughey was handcuffed. The actor was booked on suspicion of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting transportation (that is, resisting arrest), but was charged only with resisting transportation after authorities failed to find sufficient evidence to support the drug charges. The misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine.