Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal was arrested last night in New York City, after she was caught buying crack cocaine in the neighborhood of her home on the Lower East Side. She has now been released, AP reports, but no bail was set and none was requested by the prosecutor. She was allegedly arraigned today in Manhattan Criminal Court on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance, and the District Attorney is recommending that O'Neal receive drug treatment.

The actress was seen making the illicit transaction at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday on Clinton Street. It appears that she bought two bags of cocaine, which were recovered after the arrest from her pants' pocket. When the police approached her, O’Neal hoped she would get away with it just because she was famous, and asked them if they knew who she was, the New York Post reported. Then she argued she was actually doing a research for a part as a junkie.

Unfortunately for her, none of the excuses worked. O'Neal won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in 1973's "Paper Moon" at the age of 10. Now she is 44 years old and a mom of three, but it seems she still can't escape her demons. Her entire career was badly influenced by physical and emotional abuse, depression and drug addiction.

In 1986, after O’Neal was sober for a period of time, she married tennis player John McEnroe, the father of her three children. But after they divorced in 1992, she resumed taking drugs.