Ryan ONeal agrees arrested son needs tough love

O’Neal said he agreed with comments made by a Los Angeles judge, who said the 26-year-old, who has a history of drug abuse, needed to be treated more strictly.

But the Love Story star also blamed Redmond’s troubles on the fact that he has “never recovered” from losing his mother, Farrah Fawcett, who died from cancer in 2009.

“He never recovered from the loss of his mother. That’s the part that hurts the most,” the 70-year-old actor said.

“He doesn’t know how to resolve it for himself, so he gets in trouble.”

O’Neal, who attended the court hearing with Redmond’s half-sister Tatum, spoke to reporters outside the Los Angeles Airport courthouse after Redmond was arraigned on felony charges for possessing a controlled substance and possessing a firearm.

He was taken into custody by cops on Tuesday after driving through a red light in Santa Monica, California. Officers searched his car and reportedly found heroin and marijuana inside. It is also understood that they found a handgun.

Under California law, he is not allowed to own a gun because he has a previous felony conviction.

Redmond, who is currently on probation from a 2009 conviction following two drug-related arrests for the possession of heroin and methamphetamine, pleaded not guilty to the charges during his court hearing and was remanded in custody in county jail until his next court appearance on 24 August.

Asked whether he agreed with Judge Keith Schwartz, who claimed his son needed to be shown tough love, O’Neal said: “I do. I agree with that completely. He said all the right things.”