Nicolas Cage Arrested in New Orleans

Wonderwall, Saturday, April 16, 2011, 1:50pm (PDT)

Nicolas Cage was arrested Saturday morning in New Orleans and charged with domestic battery and disturbing the peace. According to TMZ and local law enforcement, the Oscar winner was taken into custody after police questioned him following an argument on a French Quarter street with his wife, Alice Kim.

Cage, 47, was reportedly "heavily intoxicated" as he argued with Kim and grabbed her arm, prompting onlookers to call the cops.

When officers arrived, they urged the star to go home, says TMZ. Instead, he allegedly told them, "Why don't you just arrest me?" Once again, they suggested he sleep it off, but he repeated the dare. The second time, police gave in to his request and took him into custody.

"Around 11:30 p.m. last night Cage was arguing with his wife," a police spokesman said in a statement (via WWL TV). "He and his wife were standing in front of a residence that he insisted was the property the couple was renting. She disagreed, and Cage grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her to what he believed was the correct address. There were no visible signs of injury on his wife's arm."

Continued the NOPD's statement, "The actor then began striking vehicles and later attempted to get into a taxi. At that point, an officer who had been flagged down by onlookers drove up on the couple, immediately observed that Cage was heavily intoxicated and ordered him out of the cab, which prompted Cage to start yelling. The officers subsequently took Cage to Central Lock-up."

The actor was booked at 6:33 a.m., and in his mug shot, his eyes are closed. He was released early Saturday afternoon, and a hearing is scheduled for May 31.

Kim, who became the third Mrs. Cage in 2004 (following Patricia Arquette and Lisa Marie Presley) and is mother to their 5-year-old son, Kal-El, did not want him charged and denies there was any physical contact, according to TMZ.

This is the financially troubled actor's second run-in with New Orleans law enforcement in recent weeks.

During Mardi Gras last month, he received a police escort back to his hotel (for his "own safety") after an incident at a French Quarter restaurant.

Cage has filmed several movies in New Orleans and previously purchased property in town, although two of his mansions, including one dubbed "the most haunted house in America," were sold at auction in 2009 after foreclosure proceedings.

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