Michael Douglas' son denied bail in NY meth case

[February 26, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Michael Douglas' troubled son Cameron was denied bail and a chance for outpatient addiction treatment Thursday as he awaits sentencing in a federal drug-dealing case.

Wearing dark-blue federal prison garb, the screen scion said nothing during the hearing at a Manhattan federal court. He briefly greeted his mother, Diandra, and other supporters as he was taken back to jail. His father did not attend the hearing.

Douglas, 31, pleaded guilty in January to selling large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine out of a trendy Manhattan hotel. He faces a minimum 10-year prison term at his sentencing, set for April 14.

Defense lawyers argued that Douglas should get $1 million bail in the meantime so he could get intensive treatment they said wasn't available behind bars, according to court documents.

They said at a hearing earlier this month that he was yearning for treatment for a yearslong heroin addiction, in part so he could present himself at sentencing as a person on the road to reform.

The son of an Academy Award winner and grandson of Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas, Cameron Douglas has appeared in films including 2003's "It Runs in the Family," starring his father and grandfather.

Still, his problems stem from "a very dysfunctional upbringing" marked by parental absences and difficulties grappling with his family's fame, defense lawyer Daniel M. Gitner said at the Feb. 11 hearing.

"He didn't benefit from his celebrity," defense lawyer Nicholas M. DeFeis added then.

Douglas pleaded guilty to a charge that generally requires defendants to be held without bail until sentencing, and prosecutors said he shouldn't get special consideration. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Berman agreed Thursday.

He said Douglas' needs were being addressed in jail, and he didn't think outpatient treatment "is likely to be successful or to resolve Mr. Douglas' long-term addiction issues."

[Associated Press; By JENNIFER PELTZ]

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