Charlie Heaton, the actor known for his role as Jonathan Byers on Netflix's Stranger Things, has finally released a statement in response to reports that he was detained at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday after trace amounts of cocaine were allegedly found in his luggage. Today, Heaton spoke to People to explain what had happened. He said, "My planned travel to the U.S. last week was affected by an issue at U.S. immigration, and I am working to rectify it as soon as possible. I do want to clarify that I was not arrested or charged with a crime, and cooperated fully with the U.S. officials at LAX."
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Before Charlie Heaton spoke out today, there was a lot of confusion surrounding the situation, and it was unclear whether the actor was arrested or simply detained. While his recent statement to People did not directly address the possession allegations, we do now know that he was not arrested at LAX this past weekend. However, being detained and not arrested could still mean that drugs were found. As Jaime Ruiz, branch chief of strategic media engagement for U.S. Customs and Border Protection told The Hollywood Reporter last week, "Foreign nationals may be inadmissible due to the commission of a crime involving drug possession."
Although the actor was not arrested, his detainment and the fact that he was subsequently sent back to the United Kingdom made him miss Stranger Things' season two premiere. Because of that, Heaton included an apology in his statement to People. He finished, "I’m sorry to all the fans and my Stranger Things family for missing the premiere. We are all so proud of this season and I would never want this story to negatively impact the show."
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