Paul Newman and Stormy Daniels among the most notable celebrities arrested in central Ohio

Thousands of people are arrested across central Ohio each year, with most of the cases going unreported.

But, on occasion, a famous face ends up behind bars. These cases draw local, state, national and in some cases, international, attention.

Here's a few of the celebrities who have found themselves entangled with the law in central Ohio.

Woody Harrelson

The most notable arrest — or at least the one that circulates on social media most frequently — is the 1982 arrest of actor Woody Harrelson in Columbus.

Harrelson had been dancing in the street, stopping traffic. Police were called and Harrelson reportedly ran from the officers. The then 21-year-old Harrelson was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Harrelson pled guilty and paid a $400 fine. A few years later, he landed his first major television role on "Cheers."

Harrelson's brother, Brett Harrelson, also found himself in Ohio police handcuffs. In 1991, Brett Harrelson was arrested after being accused of dumping a car that had been reported stolen in Columbus in Dayton.

Brett Harrelson appeared alongside his brother in the 1996 movie "The People vs. Larry Flynt" and has several other minor acting and producing roles.

Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels

Adult film star Stephanie Clifford, more commonly known as Stormy Daniels, came to Columbus in July 2018 to perform at Sirens Gentlemen's Club on the city's Northeast Side.

Amid a lawsuit against then-President Donald Trump, Clifford made international headlines after her performance. Clifford and two other employees of the club were arrested by Columbus police vice officers who were undercover in the club. The arrests cited a law on the city's books about touching patrons at a sexually oriented business.

City Attorney Zach Klein dropped the charges within hours, but not before international news outlets caught on, spotlighting the vice unit.

An internal investigation looked at why the officers were at Sirens on the night of Clifford's performance and whether those officers and their supervisors followed proper protocol. The investigation, which coupled with the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Donna Dalton Castleberry by undercover vice officer Andrew Mitchell in August 2023, led to the disbanding of the troubled vice unit in 2019 by then Interim police Chief Thomas Quinlan.

The FBI's Public Corruption Task Force also looked into the vice unit, with two officers being federally charged for unrelated actions. One of those officers, Steven Rosser, was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

A lawsuit by Clifford resulted in a $450,000 settlement by the city. Two Columbus police officers were fired and several others were disciplined for how the arrest was handled.

Faizon Love

Faizon Love, an actor and comedian best known for his role in the Will Ferrell Christmas movie, "Elf," was arrested in 2017.

On March 7, 2017, Love had been at what was then Port Columbus International Airport when authorities said he began to argue with and then assaulted a 24-year-old valet in the baggage claim area. Love grabbed the man behind the neck and threw him to the ground and into a desk, then pushed him back down when the 24-year-old attempted to stand up.

Video of the altercation circulated on the Internet at the time. Love's lawyer said a dispute over payment led to the argument that then escalated.

Love pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge of assault and received a suspended jail sentence and a $500 fine.

Paul Newman

In 1946, legendary actor Paul Newman was arrested while attending Kenyon College. As Newman relayed in his posthumously published memoir, "The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man," he and several teammates from the college football team had gone to a bar in Mount Vernon to try and meet girls since at the time, Kenyon was not co-ed.

Newman wrote about a bar fight that started after several locals became upset that the football players were dancing with their dates. When Newman appeared at the local police station to drop off a friend's car keys, his knuckles - bruised and bloodied from the fight - gave him away as a participant and led to his arrest.

From his memoir: "Three or four kids were thrown out of Kenyon right away, and another three or four, including me, were placed on probation. For good measure, I was also kicked off the football squad."

"With all this extra time suddenly on my hands, I went down to the speech department and read for a play. I was going to try out for the theater."

The experience led to Newman becoming involved in the college's theater program, leading to a long career in Hollywood and beyond.

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The most notable celebrities arrested in the Columbus area