Gary Dourdan Avoids Prison Time

No doubt, Gary Dourdan is breathing a sign of relief. Dourdan, formally of the hit crime procedural CSI, will not be facing any prison time for his recent drug charges. He pleaded guilty to 2 of the 3 offenses he was charged with. His attorney indicated that once Dourdan completes a court mandated diversion program, his case will be dismissed.

The charges were levied when Dourdan was arrested in Palm Springs. According to officers on scene, Dourdan was asleep at wheel and parked on the wrong side of the street. When the police searched him, he was in possession of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. He was in town attending the Coachella Music Festival. Dourdan, who is also an alternative musician and record producer, originally stated that the drugs belonged to friends who were attending the festival with him. However, some of his fellow castmates and CSI staffers were not surprised at his arrest. "After this, I think there will be a concerted effort to convince Gary to get help -before he kills himself."

Perhaps this explains the gritty realism Dourdan displayed in Warrick Browns recent story arc on CSI. My friends and I even joked that his performance seemed almost too realistic. This is yet another example of life imitating art. This is not Dourdan's first run in with the police. He plead no contest to charges by his ex-girlfiend Anne Greene, that he abused her. Dourdan later sued her for slander and negligent infliction of emotional distress. This is also not his first foray into drug use. Acording to his tv.com biography, he was involved with drugs when he was younger but after being robbed at gunpoint, he decided to clean up his act.

Dourdan , whose family name is Durdin, was born in Phildelphia. His family moved to New Jersey while Gary was still young. When he was 6 years old, his older brother was murdered on vacation in Haiti. No one was ever charged and the case is still open. His father is an agent for jazz musicians and his mother is a fashion designer.

He moved to New York in the hopes of pursuing music and acting. He took a job as a doorman at a rehearsal studio. This put him in contact with numerous influential people. However, his break came by way of modeling. He was modeling when Debbie Allen cast him as Shazza Zulu on "A Different World". He also appeared on the BET series "Soul Food" before he garned the role of CSI Warrick Brown on the acclaimed CSI:Crime Scene Investigation. Dourdan's character was killed off the show in the finale episode. It is alleged that he and CSI reached a mutual agreement not to renew his contract. Though several news reports cite his drug use as the precipitating factor for his release, CSI will neither confirm nor deny these rumors.

Although Dourdan has stepped away from CSI he still has upcoming projects. He is slated to play Phil Lynott, the lead singer of the band Thin Lizzy in a biopic about his life. While I am saddened to think about Dourdan leaving CSI, I do hope he takes the opportunity to get himself straightened out.

Sources:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g_j-3NZ-DCgbV61YmeO-s0YRQDXwD90UT2MG0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Dourdan

http://www.tv.com/gary-dourdan/person/834/biography.html