Drugstore cowboy: Shia LaBeouf nabbed at Michigan Ave. Walgreens after refusing to leave: cops

Editor’s note: This article originally was published Nov. 5, 2007

Working on the film ‘’Eagle Eye’’ is what brought Shia LaBeouf to Chicago this past weekend, but if the young actor had kept an eagle eye on his public behavior, he might not be facing a charge of misdemeanor criminal trespassing.

This booking photo released by the Chicago Police shows Shia LaBeouf who was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing after he refused to leave a Walgreen’s on Michigan Avenue on Nov. 4, 2007. | AP

LaBeouf was arrested at Walgreens, 757 N. Michigan, around 2:25 a.m. Sunday, because he repeatedly refused to leave the store, according to Chicago Police news affairs officer Laura Kubiak.

A security guard inside the Walgreens told LaBeouf ‘’several times that he was not welcome in the store and must exit, because he appeared to be intoxicated,’’ Kubiak said.

When the ‘’Transformers’’ star refused, the security guard detained him and contacted Near North District police, who took him into custody. According to the police spokeswoman, LaBeouf was ‘’very courteous and polite’’ while in custody and posted bond before 7 a.m. Sunday.

LaBeouf , of Glendale, Calif., is scheduled to face the trespassing charge and appear in court in Branch 29 on Nov. 28 at 9 a.m.

Tiffani Bruce, a spokeswoman for Walgreens, was reluctant to discuss the LaBeouf case Sunday, saying, ‘’We can’t comment on any police matter. I can say they did say there was an incident last night’’ at the Michigan Avenue store.

Prior to his arrest at the Streeterville store, LaBeouf , who turned 21 on June 11, spent a good part of the night partying at the popular Underground nightclub in River North and hanging out with owner Billy Dec. The well-known nightlife entrepreneur confirmed he was with LaBeouf ‘’until about 2 a.m.’’

Though Dec would not comment on whether LaBeouf was drinking heavily, another observer present Saturday night said LaBeouf was warned to ‘’cool down,’’ since it was clear he was intoxicated. ‘’But he just kept on going,’’ said the witness.

As for Dec, who called the actor ‘’a really great guy,’’ LaBeouf ‘s arrest was somewhat ironic. ‘’Before he left, I gave him my card and told him to feel free to give me a call if he got lost, needed help, or got arrested. . . . Obviously, I was joking,’’ said Dec, who seemed stunned Sunday when informed of LaBeouf ‘s arrest.

LaBeouf is scheduled to begin filming ‘’Eagle Eye’’ Tuesday in the Chicago suburbs, with the production moving into the city on Friday, said Chicago Film Office director Rich Moskal. In the film, LaBeouf plays a slacker who hooks up with a single mom played by Rosario Dawson. The duo then get mixed up with a terrorist cell plotting a political assassination. According to Moskal, all area filming for ‘’Eagle Eye’’ is slated to wrap by mid-November.

Calls to LaBeouf ‘s spokes-people were not returned.

LaBeouf , who won a daytime Emmy Award for ‘’Even Stevens’’ on the Disney Channel, has had a fast-rising career. Along with ‘’Transformers,’’ it has included starring in the acclaimed film ‘’Holes.’’ The young actor won a much-coveted role as the son of Harrison Ford’s title character in the long-awaited ‘’Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,’’ slated for release next summer.