DOWNEY AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS

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Robert Downey Jr.

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"I don't know what the demon is that really drives Robert," says Loree Rodkin, who was Downey's manager for seven years. "If any of us knew, we could save him.... I really thought that the first time he got [in trouble], it would have been a wake-up call. But he's never been this self-destructive. The drugs have gotten the best of him. Every day I keep my fingers crossed that I'm not going to read that he's dead."

Downey's attorney is only slightly more optimistic. "All you can say with someone who has an addiction is, you hope for the best," Reiner says. "I can't say, and no one can, that Robert will succeed. But I can say, based on the dozens of conversations I've had with him, that he really does want to stay sober. The problem with addiction, though, is that ultimately it ends in death, or else the person is able to stay sober. There just isn't a third option."

Downey's future is in his own hands now, something he knows better than anyone. "I have been addicted to drugs in one form or another since I was 8 years old," he told the court in December. "When I was here last, I knew that I needed help. I hope I have the opportunity to continue getting it." Which, given the alternatives, has to be better than another 100-plus days in jail.

(Additional reporting by Melissa Heckscher, Dave Karger, and Zorianna Kit)

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THE DOWNEY DOSSIER

June 23, 1996: Stopped for speeding; police find heroin, crack cocaine, and an unloaded .357 Magnum. Posts $10,000 bail.

July 16-17, 1996: Wanders into his neighbors' Malibu home, passing out in the empty bed of their 11-year-old son. Revived by paramedics. Spends the night at the USC Medical Center prisoners' ward.

July 19, 1996: Ordered into rehab at the Exodus Recovery Center in Marina del Rey. Reportedly tells guards he'll have no trouble escaping.

July 20, 1996: Escapes through a window, then hitchhikes to a friend's Malibu home. Recaptured four hours later.

July 22, 1996: Appears unhealthy and depressed during his arraignment.

July 29, 1996: Ordered into a supervised rehabilitation center for six months.

Nov. 6, 1996: Pleads no contest to June 23 incident. Gets three more months in a live-in rehab; also receives three years' probation, including periodic drug tests.

Nov. 16, 1996: Temporarily released to host Saturday Night Live; court believes work will be good for Downey's self-esteem.

Late Sept. 1997: Falls off the wagon; skips mandatory drug tests.

Dec. 8, 1997: Goes directly to jail for probation violation.

Jan. 23, 1998: With sheriff's deputies at his side, temporarily released to do work on U.S. Marshals.

Feb. 13, 1998: Receives gash in altercation with three other inmates. Heavily guarded, visits a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. Later moved to solitary confinement.

March 4, 1998: Furloughed again, this time to loop In Dreams.

March 29, 1998: Expected release date from county jail after 111 days inside.