Troubled former child star Tatum O’Neal was caught red-handed, tried to make a vague excuse of it that’s been keeping the headlines, was arrested for cocaine-possession and shortly afterwards released but what good is to come of this anytime soon?

Tatum O’Neal’s battle with drug addiction has been a lengthy and, sadly, well-documented one. She even contributed details herself, revealing to the general public her many woes.

Her best-selling memoir “A Paper Life” offered a grim perspective on her childhood, adolescence and mature years. Drugs were a part of her life from a tender age and she claimed physical abuse marred her youth.

In recent years, she repeatedly claimed she had overcome her addictions, which liberated her to write about the dreadful experiences. In her memoir, she even wrote about the way her heroin addiction affected her relationship with her children.

O’Neal’s arrest on Sunday night unfortunately fits the pattern and foretells trouble for the 44-year-old actress.

She was arrested Sunday night on the Lower East Side, after police officers found two bags of cocaine in her possession, according to a court complaint. It was initially reported she had bought crack cocaine from a homeless ex-con, before the eyes of an undercover cop.

Police later said she had bought powder cocaine, the Associated Press reported Monday. Both she and the drug dealer, a 33-year-old man named Alan Garcia, were arrested. Garcia was arraigned Monday on charges of criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was held in lieu of $10,000 bail, per the New York Post.

O’Neal, who was convicted in 2003 of criminal possession of crack, was released without bail the same day. She was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court.

She is due back in court on July 28. Prosecutors recommend drug treatment for the actress.

The Post also reported O’Neal attempted to save herself from the arrest by asking police officers, “Don’t you know who I am?” She then claimed she was doing “research” for a role as a “junkie.” When they weren’t convinced of her story, she reportedly said, “Can’t we just forget about this?”

O’Neal is mother to three children with tennis pro John McEnroe, her former husband. She is also the only daughter of “Love Story” star Ryan O’Neal. She has spoken negatively about her relationships with both men, claiming physical abuse. Both men have denied the accusations.

Her early years had the luminosity of talent and luck and fortune but according to her own declarations, it was only an appearance. In 1974, she became the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, a record that remains unbroken to this day. She was merely 10 years old when she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in “Paper Moon.”

She portrayed Addie Loggins, the child con artist of a Depression-era swindler portrayed by her real-life father. The role earned O’Neal a Golden Globe as well.

She attempted to resuscitate her acting career in recent years, with appearances in series such as “8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter” and “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.”

She was also a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2006 and has had a recurring role in FX drama series “Rescue Me,” as Maggie Gavin, the unhinged sister of Tommy Gavin, played by Denis Leary.