Looks like one of the Gallagher kids are at it again.
Except for this time, it’s in real life.
‘Shameless’ Star Busted
Eighteen-year-old actor Ethan Cutkosky, who plays the second youngest Gallagher kid, Carl, on the hit Showtime series Shameless, was busted for a DUI last Thursday at a routine traffic stop in Los Angeles after cops smelt a strong pot odor in the teenager’s car.
Cutkosky was stopped at about 10:30 p.m.in his orange BMW last week after the Shameless regular was spotted driving erratically and swerving between lanes. According to gossip site TMZ, Cutkosky performed poorly on his field sobriety tests, which then prompted the officers to arrest and book the actor on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Police reportedly could smell burnt marijuana coming from the car, and the actor admitted to the cops that he had smoked weed earlier in the evening, but it is still unclear whether or not drugs or alcohol played a part in Cutkosky’s erroneous driving.
Burbank police are still waiting on the results of a blood test Cutkosky agreed to on the night of the arrest in order to determine what additional substances, if any, might have been in his system.
The young Shameless star was later released from the Burbank City Jail on $5,000 bail, with his next court date set for November 29.
Cutkosky has been playing the role of the troubled young Carl Gallagher since the show’s inception in 2011.
In addition to his role as the rebellious young troublemaker, Cutkosky has played the role of Barto in the 2009 horror flick The Unborn, a small neighborhood boy in the independent thriller Conviction, and ironically enough, a young boy also named Carl in his debut film, the 2007 Vince Vaughn Christmas comedy, Fred Claus.
Final Hit: ‘Shameless’ Star Arrested After Police Smell Weed In His Car
While no DUI-related incident is ever cut-and-dry, the entire ordeal could eventually blow over if Cutkosky is found to have had no other illicit substances in his system upon his arrest.
However, that’s not to say he won’t face any punishment.
With California set to legalize weed this January, there have been rules in place for driving under the influence of cannabis. The law, which bans smoking or eating weed while as a car driver or passenger, includes a fine of around $70. Essentially, it’s just a slap-on-the-wrist, but the trivial fine’s main goal is to prevent people from the act of smoking in their vehicles. And by all accounts, it appears Cutkosky was doing just that.
Stoned driving has been one of the biggest impediments when it comes to cannabis legalization, with no guaranteed form of testing available at the moment. The state of Michigan is set to test out a new form of roadside testing beginning this Thursday, with a one-year pilot program that will test motorist’s saliva for any traces of narcotics. However, the jury is still out on whether or not such a procedure will garner any results.
