That's So Raven Star Orlando Brown Arrested After Alleged Domestic Dispute
Former That's So Raven Star Orlando Brown has reportedly been arrested and is in police custody, following an alleged domestic incident that reportedly saw the actor brandishing a hammer and knife in a threatening manner against a relative.
According to police reports (obtained by TMZ and People), Orlando Brown was staying with his brother Matthew in Ohio since he currently does not have a residence of his own; Matthew was the one who reportedly contacted police, stating his brother Orlando was acting "crazy" and "came at him" with the hammer and knife in hand. Matthew was reportedly able to avoid being injured; police showed up on the scene and arrested Orlando, who is now being held in the Allen County in Ohio, reportedly without bond option. No word yet on what kind of defense and/or plea Orlando Brown is pursuing against the charges.
Orlando Brown got his breakout start as Cadet Kevin "Tiger" Dunne in the cult-classic comedy Major Payne (1995) with Damon Wayans (ironically Brown would later play a younger version of Wayans in Waynehead). He went on to have TV appearances on shows like Coach, In the House, Sister, Sister, The Wayans Bros., Family Matters, Nash Bridges, The Jamie Foxx Show, Moesha, The Olsen Twins' Two of a Kind, and more, with his longest role being Eddit Thomas in That's So Raven from 2003-2007. When That's So Raven ended in 2007 Orlando Brown decided to break from Disney and jump into music, attempting to relaunch his career as a rapper.
Obviously the music career of Orlando Brown never achieved mainstream success, and the actor/musician found himself in legal troubles in the 2010s. That included a 2016 arrest in California ffor domestic battery, obstuction of justice, drug possession (methamphetamine) with intent to sell, and possession of contraband in jail – all stemming from a public fight with his girlfriend at the time – in the parking lot of a police station. He failed to appear in court for that incident and subsequently fled California for Las Vegas, where he was tracked down by bounty hunters at a private home, hiding in a closet. Mere months later, he was arrested in Las Vegas leaving a hotel notrious for drugs and prostitution, and was found to have meth and paraphenalia related to the drug on his person – not to mention his unresolved legal issues in California.
That same year, after brief hospitalization, Brown was arrested yet again for trying to break into a Vegas restaurant owned by old friend and entertainer, Danny Boy. Friends and colleagues staged an intervention for Brown and had him enter rehab – although it didn't take, and Brown was once again making headlines before the end of 2016, after being photographed in the street barefoot, with a box of wine in hand. In a Dr. Phil show segment in 2018, Brown spoke about his addictions struggles, after his manager kicked the actor out of his home and contacted Dr. Phil for intervention – and there was hope a few years ago that Brown had exorcised some of his bigger demons in that regard.
"I can tell you that I'm OK. I'm alive," Orlando Borwn told The Christian Post in 2020. "I was in an unsafe position and it has been shaky, but at the end of the day, all I can tell you is I'm OK and I'm graduating and I will be getting married."
We hope Orlando Brown gets help (legally or otherwise) and that his family is okay.