I always thought mug looked like a stoner.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/02/10/dell.dude.arrest/index.html
'Dell Dude' arrested for marijuana possession
Monday, February 10, 2003 Posted: 4:08 PM EST (2108 GMT)
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NEW YORK (CNN) --Benjamin Curtis, better known as the "Dell Dude" from the computer company's television commercials, was arrested Sunday while he allegedly attempted to buy marijuana on Manhattan's lower east side.
Curtis is in custody while awaiting arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Monday, said a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney's office. The time of the arraignment has not yet been determined.
Curtis was arrested at 11:30 p.m. Sunday on the corner of Ludlow and Rivington streets and charged with criminal possession of marijuana when an officer observed him making the purchase from Queens resident Omar Mendez, said a police spokesman.
Police said he was buying "a small bag" and was not being charged with intent to distribute. Mendez faces charges of drug sale and possession.
Officers made the arrest as part of Operation Condor, a special anti-narcotics detail.
Curtis' agent, Bonnie Schumofsky, refused to comment on the arrest.
Curtis, 22, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, according to Dell's Web site.
He gained national recognition as "Steven," a hip teenager who convinces his parents, his friends' parents and random people at the mall to buy computers from Dell.
The ad campaign was hugely successful for Dell, featuring Curtis' memorable catch phrase, "Dude, you're getting a Dell!" Fan Web sites and "Dell Dude" memorabilia sprung up soon after the launch of the campaign in the fall of 2000.
Dell has moved away recently from the "Steven" campaign, although Curtis' relationship with Dell is "still in place" and he is featured in the role of Steven in other Dell commercials, according to Dell spokesman Venancio Figueroa.
Figueroa said it was "premature" to comment on Curtis' arrest or the future of Dell's relationship with the actor, but said the Steven campaign was "absolutely a success that resonated with the younger folks."
Consumer sales bring in approximately $4.8 billion a year for Dell, or 15 percent of the company's $32 billion in annual revenue.
Edited by - Elsewhere on 10 February 2003 17:54:17