Nov. 14, 1961 - Ray Charles, one of the country’s leading popular singers and pianists, was arrested on a narcotics charge today in his Indianapolis hotel room. Detective Sgts. William Owen and Robert Keithley reported the seizure of heroin and marijuana and a hypodermic needle. The blind singer was taken to police headquarters for questioning. Mr. Owen said Mr. Charles, 31, reported that he had been a narcotics addict since the age of 16. The detective described Mr. Charles’s needle-pricked arm as “one of the worst I’ve ever seen.”
