Inside Nicholas Brendon's Troubled Life After 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'

Nicholas Brendon's recent arrest for alleged prescription fraud is just the latest chapter in an upsetting saga of the actor's scrapes with the law.

Brendon, now 50, shot to stardom as Xander Harris on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which aired from 1997 to 2003.

In 2004, Brendon checked himself into a rehab clinic for alcohol problems.

"After realizing that I had a disease that was taking control of my life, I decided that the best way for me to regain my health was to enter a treatment facility," he said at the time.

Six years later, the Buffy the Vampire Star star returned to rehab, shortly after being tasered by police and charged with vandalism, resisting arrest and battery against a police officer. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to probation and community service.

In October 2014, he was arrested in Boise, Idaho, and charged with two misdemeanor counts: malicious injury to property and restraining or obstructing officers.

Officers were called to a hotel after reports of a disturbance in the lobby involving the Criminal Minds actor and hotel staff, and the Boise Police Department said in a statement that Brendon "showed signs of intoxication and repeatedly refused officers commands to stay seated while officers tried to speak to witnesses." He was taken into custody after he allegedly repeatedly tried to walk away.

In February 2015, he was placed under arrest for allegedly drunkenly trashing a hotel room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just days after he and wife Moonda Tee called it quits after five months of marriage.

According to a complaint affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, he was charged with grand theft and criminal mischief.

In March of 2015, he was arrested for a second time that year in Florida for allegedly flipping a hotel bed, smashing a porcelain figure, pulling the phone out of the wall and clogging the toilet, which caused water to spill out onto the room's carpet. Damages were estimated up to $1,000.

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In May of 2015, Brendon was arrested again — this time in South Carolina for public intoxication and impairment, according to the Myrtle Beach Police Department's website.

That June, he entered rehab for depression, alcoholism and substance abuse problems.

However, in October of that year, the actor was arrested again in Saratoga Springs, New York, after allegedly grabbing his girlfriend by the throat, taking her car keys and smashing her cell phone in an attempt to get her to stay with him. He was charged with two counts of criminal mischief and one count of obstruction of breathing, which are misdemeanors. He was also charged with robbery in the third degree, which is a felony.

Later that month, the actor checked into a Florida treatment center for 90 days to treat depression.

"I love you all so much and I truly do appreciate all of your love and support," he said in a message to fans. "We're going to beat this."

During an interview with Dr. Phil released that December, Brendon revealed that he has "had failed attempts at suicide" and had been in a dark place over those past three years. He also opened up about being molested by a music teacher who went to jail in 1981, when he was about 10 years old.

"I think about it every day of my life and I wonder how it affected me. Did I stop growing emotionally?" he added. "When you're molested for a couple years and you're blamed for it by the people who are supposed to be your protectors, there's going to be a lot of confusion and a lot of sadness."

At the end of the interview, the actor checked into a dual diagnosis treatment center, HeadWaters at Origins. "Maybe I'm just done," he said of entering rehab. "Maybe I'm ready to be happy now."

A few days later, the actor pleaded guilty to the criminal mischief charge from his arrest in October over allegedly grabbing his girlfriend by the throat.

The actor was again arrested on Oct. 11, 2017, after allegedly attacking his girlfriend in a California hotel room.

"He was with his girlfriend and they got into an argument," Palm Springs Police Sgt. William Hutchinson told KESQ-TV. "During the argument at the bar, he pulled her arm and then violently pulled her by her hair."

The girlfriend has active protective orders against Brendon in Florida and New York, police said. He was allowed to be around his girlfriend, but could not harass, injure, assault or threaten her. In May 2019, he was charged with domestic violence for the incident and ultimately sentenced to three years' probation, according to the Desert Sun.

On Aug. 23, 2021, news broke that Brendon was arrested the week prior in Indiana for allegedly using false information to obtain prescription drugs.

The actor, charged with felony prescription fraud, was also charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly failing to properly identify himself when stopped by police after failing to signal and swerving on the road in Terre Haute. According to documents obtained by TMZ, Brendon handed police a California ID with the name Kelton Schultz when asked to identify himself. The actor told police that Schultz was his brother, TMZ reported. Brendon does have an identical twin brother, though his name is Kelly Donovan.

He was being held at the Vigo County Jail but has since been released on his own recognizance.

It's unclear if Brendon has entered a plea on either charge at this time. His attorney, Christopher Eskew, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.