Here's How Many Times Shia LaBeouf Has Been Arrested

Shia LaBeouf has been in the public spotlight since he was a kid. "My family's lineage is five generations of artists who never made it," LaBeouf told Time. Clearly, he was the exception to the rule. LaBeouf was 10 when he first took to the stage as a stand-up comedian before transitioning to the small screen and taking his talents to the cinema. "I was a kid with a bowl-cut and suspenders," LaBeouf told The Los Angeles Times. "My shtick at that time was the 50-year-old mouth on the 10-year-old kid."

What he lacked in years, he more than made up for with bravado. LaBeouf admitted to randomly picking out an entertainment agent's name from the Yellow Pages (Google it, kids), acting as a talent manager, and then pitching himself to the agent as a hot new commodity. Blown away by his audacity and innovation, she signed him. "A couple of weeks later, I booked 'ER,' then 'The X-Files' and 'Suddenly Susan,'" LaBeouf told the LA Times.

Per IMDb, LaBeouf's breakout role was playing Louis Stevens in the Disney show "Even Stevens." It scored him a Daytime Emmy Award and eventually led to him starring in the 2003 neo-Western dramedy, "Holes." He didn't look back from there. Shia LaBeouf isn't one to do things in moderation. He totally subscribes to the go big or go home school of thought. Unfortunately, that's evident in the astounding number of times Shia LaBeouf has been arrested, starting at age nine.

Even by Hollywood hot head standards, Shia LaBeouf has racked up an inordinate number of mug shots. He's been arrested 11 times in total and had numerous other run-ins with authorities, per Grunge. It's not unusual for former Disney teen stars to fall afoul of the law. However, Shia LaBeouf's legal drama began before he was a star — or even a teen. He wrote about his pre-pubescent crime spree in an essay titled "Error Breeds Sense" (via Yahoo!) that was published in the book, "Prison Ramen."

LaBeouf shares that his first arrest was "for stealing a pair of Nike Cortezes" when he was nine. His light-fingered love of consumer goods resulted in his second arrest after pilfering "a Gameboy Pokémon from K-Mart" when he was 11. Luckily for him, on both occasions, LaBeouf was just held for a few hours and then released. LaBeouf put his criminal career on ice during his teens but fell off the straight and narrow at 20.

According to Page Six, LaBeouf's third arrest was for allegedly threatening his neighbor with a knife. "I tried to stab my neighbor and spent two days in jail," he admitted in his essay. "While I was there, I at least understood that being in jail is not the move. It sucks a**." LaBeouf may have understood, but he still hadn't learned his lesson.

Shia LaBeouf's fourth arrest followed a 2007 altercation at a drug store. "I got pretty wasted in Chicago and ended up celebrating in Walgreens," he told David Letterman. The fifth was a misdemeanor DUI after flipping his truck in 2008. LaBeouf explained to Esquire years later that he keeps the crumpled truck door as it represents "failure" and "fallibility." 

Per People, his sixth arrest was in 2008 for an illegal smoking misdemeanor, which was later turned into a fine. Sadly, LaBeouf's arrests from that point only grew more serious in nature. Arrest No. 7 came after a heckling outburst at a Broadway show in 2014. "Do you know who the f*** I am?" LaBeouf screamed (via TMZ). The star was arrested for an eighth time in 2015 after an incident that involved drunk jaywalking and calling a cop "silly man," according to the affidavit (via Statesman).

Shia LaBeouf's ninth arrest was after the actor allegedly assaulted someone during his 2017 anti-Trump protest, per TMZ. 

Arrest No. 10 came that same year, and stemmed from more alcohol. During this disorderly conduct arrest, LaBeouf went on a now-famous racist rant against the officers booking him. LaBeouf later apologized for his insensitive outburst and admitted he'd been "struggling with addiction publicly for far too long." Last but not least was an alleged assault and hat theft in 2019, according to the LA City Attorney (via NBC).

"I've been falling forward for a long time," LaBeouf said of his history to Esquire in 2018. "The truth is, in my desperation, I lost the plot." After ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs filed a sexual battery lawsuit against him, LaBeouf admitted to being abusive to himself and others. "I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I'm ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt," he told The New York Times in 2021, adding he was sober and in therapy.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).