5 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Had Been Arrested

Celebrity arrests always make good copy except when it’s overdone, like the countless arrests of Justin Bieber or Lindsay Lohan. Now, if it were Taylor Swift or Meryl Streep, that would make headlines. They’re as clean as newly- laundered clothes and, unless writing songs about your exes becomes a crime, they’re not likely to have the police knocking on their doors. Per FBI records in 2014, authorities in America arrest someone every two minutes. What’s the likelihood then of an A-list star getting nabbed?

Here are five well-known figures who have had their Miranda Rights read to them and their mugshots taken. They include a business leader and philanthropist, a multi-decorated Olympian, popular singers and a former child star. One or two may surprise you but the rest will just make you say, “What else is new?”

1. Michael Phelps

The American Olympic swimmer is back in the limelight after the 2016 Rio Games, becoming the Olympian with the most number of medals won (28 in all, 23 of them gold.) But two years ago, in September 2014, he made news for not-so-great reasons. He was arrested for DUI, speeding and crossing double lane lines in his hometown of Baltimore, MD. He was later released but was suspended by the US Swimming for six months. It was his second DUI arrest, the first was in 2004 also in his home state, and he was put on 18 months’ probation.

2. Bill Gates

Bill Gates was arrested not once but twice, in 1975 and in 1977, in Albuquerque, NM. His first offense was driving without a license and speeding. His second offense was also driving without a license and failing to stop at a stop sign. He paid the $1000 bail in cash and walked away. In his mug shot, he doesn’t seem worried. After all, he and his friend Paul Allen had just founded Microsoft , the multi-billion software company that makes him still the richest person on the planet.

Amanda Bynes

The California born and raised actress who became known through Nickelodeon seems to be following in the footsteps of her more infamous co-child star Lindsay Lohan. Since 2012, she has had a series of criminal offenses ranging from DUI, two counts of hit-and-runs, criminal possession of marijuana and is considered a psychiatric case for inventing weird stories. On the bright side, her hit and run charges were dismissed after a civil compromise was made with the two parties. According to a hit and run attorney, the law in California allows hit and run misdemeanors to be settled by a civil compromise, which is a financial settlement agreed upon by the parties involved.

Bruno Mars

The Grammy award winning singer-songwriter with a string of number 1 hits to his name was arrested in a Las Vegas hotel in September 2010 for possession of cocaine. Mars admits he was scared. After working hard to get to where he is now, all of it could be taken away because of a single mistake. Cocaine possession is a felony in Nevada and could mean six years in jail. Fortunately for Mars, doing more than 200 hours of community service, undergoing an eight-hour drug counseling and paying a $2,000 fine was enough to wipe the charges away from his record. He has had a clean slate until now.

Wiz Khalifa

The “See You Again” rapper was arrested at the Los Angeles LAX airport in August 2015 for riding a hover board and refusing to disembark. Reports do not indicate if the offense is an infraction or a misdemeanor, or what law Wiz violated. Prior to that, in 2014, he was arrested at El Paso airport in Texas for carrying 0.5 gm of marijuana. He has since pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia and paid a $500 fine. The rapper apparently is not well-informed on diverse state laws regarding weed, as he has been arrested 21 times for the same offense.