It seems like Sam Shepard plays would not come out anytime soon as the playwright was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving last Monday, May 25.
A security guard from La Choza Restaurant in Santa Fe, Mexico, complained about a possibly intoxicated driver and reported the incident to the authorities before 8 PM. Shepard was apparently inside his truck, struggling to disengage the emergency brake.
The 71-year-old actor told police that he had only consumed two tequila shots. However, according to Lt. Andrea Dobyn, "Our officers could smell alcohol on him and he had bloodshot, watery eyes."
Shepard was immediately put under the custody of the Santa Fe County Jail, after failing the field sobriety test. He had refused to let police test his alcohol levels through a breathalyzer.
He was arraigned in the Santa Fe Magistrate Court Tuesday.
Shepard had previously talked about his fight with alcoholism, as this incident is not the first time he was caught and charged. According to People Magazine, the actor was previously arrested for intoxicated driving.
In 2009, he was stranded in Normal, Illinois when a police officer pulled over his car for speeding. Shepard, who was showing signs of intoxication at that time, told the officers that he was drinking in a Bloomington-based bar and was already on his way home.
Sam Shepard was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the 1983 film 'The Right Stuff.' He played pilot Chuck Yeager. He was last seen in the Netflix original series 'Bloodline'.
He is also recognized as the author of various books, including the Sam Shepard: Seven Plays, Rolling Thunder Logbook, When The World Was Green, Great Dream Of Heaven: Stories and Five Plays.
Sam Shepard plays are also award-winning, as he also received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for 'Buried Child' in 1979.
