LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California judge granted actor Tom Sizemore's request to stay in a psychiatric hospital for round-the-clock treatment of depression and drug abuse on Friday after he admitted to breaching probation on a drug conviction.
But the judge refused to rule out the possibility that Sizemore, 43, who played soldiers in "Saving Private Ryan" and "Black Hawk Down," might be sent to prison in the future, even if he completes his drug treatment without further lapses.
"I'm not making any promises. I'm not making any deals," Judge Paula Mabrey told Sizemore and his lawyers at a hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The actor acknowledged violating the terms of his probation by trying to fake the results of a court-ordered drug test using a prosthetic penis similar to a device sold over the Internet under the brand name Whizzinator.
He also admitted to failing repeatedly to submit to drug testing every three days since his last court appearance in June, as ordered by the judge.
Prosecutors have said those violations carry a penalty of up to three years in state prison. Mabrey will to decide his fate when he returns for a progress hearing set for Sept. 15.
"She could do almost anything but execute him," the actor's lawyer, Michael Rovell, told reporters.
In the meantime, Sizemore was ordered to remain 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California, where he is to submit to drug testing once a week. The judge said he is not permitted to leave the facility without her permission.
A subdued Sizemore emerged from the proceedings saying only, "It seems harsh, but it's not."
The actor has been undergoing treatment for chronic depression and drug dependency at Las Encinas since he checked himself in to the facility on July 11, according to his physician, Dr. Joseph Haraszti.
Haraszti told reporters outside the courtroom that Sizemore was "emotionally fragile" but "highly motivated" to get better. "The depression is the root cause of everything else. He's been wrestling with these demons for 15 years," he said.
Sizemore's lawyers had asked Mabrey to excuse the actor from Friday's hearing, saying in a letter his mental state was too shaky and suggesting, according to Mabrey, that he "may be a danger to himself." But she insisted that Sizemore attend.
Sizemore's predicament stems from his guilty plea last fall to possession of methamphetamine.
He also was sentenced to 21 months in prison on a separate drug-related probation violation arising from his conviction for beating his ex-girlfriend, the former "Hollywood madam" Heidi Fleiss. Sizemore remains free on $25,000 bail pending the outcome of that appeal.
Are drugs really that important? omg
