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NEW YORK - Academy Award-winning actress Tatum O’Neal has been arrested after buying crack cocaine near her home in Manhattan, police say.

Police said the 44-year-old actress was seen making the illicit purchase at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. She is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.

O’Neal, daughter of actor Ryan O’Neal, appears regularly on the cable television series “Rescue Me” and was the youngest person to win an Oscar for her role in 1973’s “Paper Moon.”

According to a report in the New York Daily News, citing a police source, O'Neal initially told police she was "doing research for a part."

When cops, involved in a narcotics sweep in the neighborhood, searched the actress, they found two bags of drugs -- one crack, one regular cocaine -- and a crack pipe.

According to the Daily News, O'Neal then changed her story, asking police for a break.

"Today was the first time I was relapsing, but you guys saved me! Can you let me go?"

Police could not say whether she had an attorney. Messages left for a publicist were not returned early Monday.

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