Richie Sambora Arrested For DUI
Friday March 28, 2008 @ 05:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Richie Sambora's mugshot photo

Shot through the heart, and Richie Sambora's to blame: he's giving rehab a bad name. The Bon Jovi guitarist was arrested in Laguna Beach, Calif. on Tuesday night for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Sambora was arrested just before 11 p.m. after police pulled over his black Hummer for weaving across the centre traffic line, said Laguna Beach police sergeant Jason Kravetz.

Police ordered the 48-year-old rocker to perform verbal and manual field sobriety tests, which he failed. He was then arrested without incident. He was booked at the Laguna Beach Jail and gave a blood sample prior to his release at 4 a.m. on Wednesday.

Three females were also in Sambora's vehicle at the time of his arrest — two of whom were minors. One was later identified as Sambora and ex-wife Heather Locklear's 10-year-old daughter Ava. Police sources say that Locklear was contacted after her ex's arrest and she authorized the adult woman in the car to drive Ava home.

Depending on the blood test results, which will take at least a week to process, Sambora could face an additional charge of endangering the welfare of a child, said Kravetz. He's scheduled to appear in court on May 7 on one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.

Sambora's been having a rough time lately. Prior to checking into a rehabilitation clinic last June, his father died of lung cancer, his relationship with actress Denise Richards ended and his divorce with Locklear was finalized. But it seems the poor guy just couldn't lay off the bad medicine. Three months later, he was back in rehab — this time, at Lindsay Lohan's treatment centre of choice.

"I was just drinking too much and I needed to get my life together," Sambora said during a Today show appearance last year. "I'm still in therapy and stuff like that, but it's good. I'm great. I feel fine."

—Jen White