Wednesday 13th February 2008

A California judge ruled that the actor Mel Gibson, star of such movies as the Academy Award-winning “Braveheart” and the “Mad Max” and “Lethal Weapon” series, had successfully completed the terms of his no-contest plea to misdemeanour drunk driving. The 50-year-old Gibson made headlines after he was stopped for speeding and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol in the early morning hours of July 28, 2006, on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California. The actor, who was driving a Lexus LS 430, reportedly had an open bottle of tequila on the seat next to him. A breathalyser test revealed his blood-alcohol level was above California’s legal limit. Gibson is far from the only Hollywood celebrity to be involved in a drunk-driving case. In 2007, Kiefer Sutherland, the star of the hit TV show “24,” pled guilty to a DUI charge in California and was sentenced to 48 days in jail.