For nearly 40 years, the novelist Bret Easton Ellis has been chronicling noirish debauchery in best-selling books such as “American Psycho” and “Less Than Zero.” This week, his partner, Todd Michael Schultz, was arrested at the fancy Los Angeles condominium building where the couple lives, and was charged with burglary, according to Abraham Bedoyan, a sergeant at the West Hollywood sheriff’s station.
On Tuesday, Sergeant Bedoyan said, management at 818 North Doheny Drive received a phone call from a female resident in distress. The resident said that a man had entered her apartment and was ransacking her things, according to a police report Sergeant Bedoyan read from.
The woman reportedly told management that the intruder was “unresponsive” to her requests that he leave her apartment.
Building representatives arrived and detained the man, whom Sergeant Bedoyan confirmed to be Mr. Schultz, 37. There is nothing to suggest Mr. Ellis, 59, was associated with the crime, according to Sergeant Bedoyan.
An eyewitness outside, who requested anonymity because she did not want to be associated with the story or the case, said that numerous police cars soon arrived. While residents milled about, discussing what had taken place, Mr. Ellis paced the sidewalk seemingly in distress while talking on his cellphone.
In a text message on Friday evening, Mr. Ellis said that Mr. Schultz had been having “serious mental health issues exacerbated by drugs.” He said that the episode was nonviolent and that Mr. Schultz, experiencing a psychotic break, walked into an open apartment, believing it to be Mr. Ellis’s.
A court appearance on Friday was rescheduled for next Tuesday because Mr. Schultz was “in no position” to be in court, according to Mr. Ellis, who said he believed the charges might be reduced to trespassing.
Mr. Schultz is being held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Downtown Los Angeles, where Mr. Ellis said he is in lockdown in a psychiatric ward.
Mr. Ellis said his relationship with Mr. Schultz dates back 14 years. In 2014, they were photographed together with the filmmaker Liz Goldwyn at the Standard Hotel in Los Angeles.
Over the years, Mr. Schultz’s hair changed colors many times. On Instagram, he championed Dogecoin, accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of presiding over the “enslavement” of Britney Spears and posted apocalyptic warnings about the behavior of tech giants like Google.
He has also recorded music. A song by him on iTunes, “Hotel,” describes “empty bottles on the ground” that “remind me how I’m feeling now.”
In 2021, Mr. Schultz put up a post stating his intention to run for West Hollywood City Council. He said his signature issues would be noise pollution, government accountability, corruption, homeowner associations and putting the interests of residents above developers in city planning matters. Mr. Schultz promised to provide “Accountability, Transparency, and Fun.” But nothing came of it.
Last November, Mr. Schultz posted a video of himself announcing his intention to run for president of the United States on the Republican ticket. In the video, Mr. Schultz described himself as a 14-year resident of West Hollywood. He said he worked as a writing teacher, was born at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and grew up in the San Fernando Valley.
“I am the best option,” he said. “I’m the best option for the Republicans to win, but I’m also better than the Democrats.”
In the video, Mr. Schultz wore a navy blazer and a light-blue button-down shirt. His eyes looked glassy, and his words sounded slightly slurred.
Mr. Ellis made frequent appearances on Mr. Schultz’s feed.
Last April, Mr. Schultz uploaded a video in which Mr. Ellis could be seen picking out produce at the grocery store. In a photo posted the previous month, Mr. Schultz stood in the foreground wearing nothing but an open bathrobe and a dazed expression. Mr. Ellis could be seen in the background reading on a computer.
In recent months, Mr. Schultz filed a series of lawsuits, including one in January against Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla. The complaint accused Mr. Musk of interfering with Mr. Schultz’s presidential campaign. The suit was dismissed with prejudice five days after being filed, court records show.
On Wednesday, Mr. Ellis announced in Variety that he was set to make his debut as a film director with “Relapse,” a horror film with his “signature characters — young, handsome, rich — at the center.” Mr. Ellis told Variety it would also be a personal film.
“It will have my strokes: sex, drugs and paranoia,” Mr. Ellis was quoted as saying.
Alain Delaquérière contributed research.
