Phil Rudd arrives late to court with bizarre antics
Former Ac/Dc drummer Phil Rudd risked arrest in New Zealand on Wednesday (26Nov14) by arriving late to a scheduled court date.
The embattled rocker hit headlines earlier this month (Nov14) when he was arrested and accused of plotting to have two men killed.
The murder-for-hire accusation was dropped a day after his court
appearance, but Rudd still faces charges of drug possession and
threatening to kill.
He was slated to appear in the Tauranga High Court at 9am local
time, but was not present when the hearing was scheduled to begin.
The judge overseeing the case issued a warrant for Rudd's arrest,
which would only be enacted if the rocker did not show within 30
minutes later.
He was in court by 9.15am for the brief hearing, which concluded
with the judge sending the case back to a district court due to the
fact local police had dropped the initial charge of attempting to
procure murder. The rocker did not enter a plea for the remaining
charges.
The drummer's lawyer stated that Rudd will defend the charge of
threatening to kill, for which he faces a maximum seven-year jail
sentence if found guilty.
There was drama outside the courthouse after the hearing as Rudd
jumped on the back of a security guard as he made his way to his
vehicle, surrounded by members of the local media. He then flipped
off the snappers before stepping into his car, and reversed right
into the path of an oncoming truck, forcing it to screech to a
halt.
He remains free on bail and is due back in District Court on 2
December (14).
Rudd was kicked out of AC/DC earlier this year (14).