Macaulay Culkin
Bauer-Griffin
The Home Alone star, 24, appeared with his attorney to enter his pleas on two misdemeanor charges and left after his brief court appearance, Reuters reports. He remains free on $4,000 bond posted at the time of his arrest.
Culkin and actor pal Brett Tabisel, 22, were pulled over for speeding in Oklahoma City on Sept. 17 while on a cross-country trip. Police say that Tabisel gave them permission to search the car, and Culkin offered to open a black bag for an officer – who says he found 17.3 grams of marijuana inside, PEOPLE reported.
Culkin also had 16 sleeping pills and 8 Xanax anti-anxiety pills on him, cops say. Culkin was booked on drug possession charges; Tabisel was charged with two traffic violations and marijuana possession. A rep for Culkin declined comment, as did a rep for Tabisel.
Although the charges against Culkin could conceivably bring up to one year behind bars, Oklahoma law enforcement officials say it is unlikely the actor would be incarcerated, if convicted. "Because this is a misdemeanor it's more likely that he would not," says Oklahoma County District Attorney's spokeswoman Debbie Forshee.
Instead, prosecutors are said to be asking that he be enrolled in drug-treatment program as part of a plea agreement that would exclude prison time.
"This is to insure that defendants who have substance abuse problems have less likelihood to re-offend and escalate into the criminal justice system," says Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane.
The next hearing in the case has been set for Dec. 2.
