DUI Arrest Just Latest of Lamar Odom"s Troubles
Khloe & Lamar star Lamar Odom is having a tough week. First, his wife, Khloe Kardashian went public with her concerns about his drug use. Then he disappeared. Then Kris Jenner decided it was time her daughter divorced the troubled basketball star. And then he was arrested for driving under the influence.
Kardashian went public last week about her husband's alleged drug use, saying the 33-year-old professional basketball player is addicted to crack cocaine.
She says that Odom has previously gotten clean before each basketball season but relapses during the break.
Currently a free agent, Odom reportedly walked out of an unsuccessful intervention with the Kardashian family. TMZ reported he was missing for 72-hours but Odom's agent refuted that report in a statement Sunday, saying the basketballer was just at a local hotel with friends.
Khloe had apparently been hiding Odom's drug problem from her family, but once the Kardashian's pr-savvy matriarch Kris Jenner became aware of his alleged drug use and infidelity, she reportedly demanded Khloe end their troubled marriage.
In fact, NY Daily News reports that Jenner--who apparently believes her daughter is being “too emotional”--has stepped in and met with a divorce attorney on Khloe's behalf.
A source close to the family told NY Daily News that Khloe's going public about Odom's alleged drug use was probably masterminded by Kris Jenner and is just the opening salvo in an all out war. He says, the publicity was "likely sanctioned by the Kardashians to publicly shame Lamar.
They've destroyed his career. Now Kris wants him out of the family.”
Jenner reportedly made numerous phone calls to and had an emergency two-hour meeting with attorney Laura Wasser (who the family previously retained to deal with Kim's divorce from Kris Humphries).
Jenner was apparently particularly interested in the details of the couple’s prenup.
“Kris wants Khloe to get her prenup money, plus the penalty for cheating,” the same source said . “Kim, Kourtney and Kris want her to dump him. You can’t live with a drug addict.”
Jenner is also apparently very worried that Odom has been a negative influence on her 26-year-old son, Rob Kardashian, who currently lives with Khloe and Lamar.
“He’s best friends with Lamar; look at his weight fluctuations, he’s unhealthy,” the insider told NY Daily News.
With Jenner setting her sights on Odom, he didn't need any more bad news. But he just can't seem to stay out of trouble and Friday, he was arrested for a DUI.
People magazine reported that Odom was arrested at 3:54AM after being pulled over by the California Highway Patrol for driving slowly and in a “serpentine manner.”
Drivers under the influence frequently drive slowly in an attempt to correct for their impairment. But driving slowly doesn't just draw attention of the CHP, it can also be dangerous.
As CHP spokesman Leland Tang explains, “He was driving 50 mph on a freeway with a speed of 65 mph. That is never a good sign. That's not safe.”
Odom also reportedly showed “objective signs of intoxication" and failed the field sobriety test. So he was arrested and taken to a jail in Van Nuys, CA . There, Odom refused to take a chemical test (which determines which substances, and what amounts of those substances a driver has ingested).
Unfortunately for Odom, refusing the blood test in California automatically results in the loss of one's driver's license for a year--regardless of the outcome of the arrest.
"Once you say 'No' you automatically lose your license. No judge or attorney needed," Tang explained. "People think you can do that but you can't refuse a chemical test without consequences."
Under California's DUI laws, Odom will likely have to pay a fine and complete a DUI program. He could also serve time in jail and have to install an igition interlock device which checks for the presence of alcohol before the car will start.
Khloe's already familiar with what a DUI can cost someone. After all, she was fired from Celebrity Apprentice for her own 2007 arrest.