Judge Orders Weiland to Detox
Following Scott Weiland’s arrest for driving under the influence on
Monday, a judge ordered the Velvet Revolver singer to immediately
enter a live-in detox program for violating his probation.
Weiland was arrested early Monday morning for a misdemeanor
charge of driving under the influence after police in Hollywood say
he hit a parked car and attempted to flee the scene. Pasadena
Superior Court Commissioner Collette Serio’s ruling on Thursday
will allow the singer to leave the detox facility for four hours a
day from November 7th until the 17th in order to finish Velvet
Revolver’s debut album, according to a court clerk.
The former Stone Temple Pilots singer will be escorted to the
studio by a police officer and will be drug tested upon his return.
His stay in the detox program will be followed by a six-month stint
in a residential drug rehab center.
Weiland did not speak at his hearing — at which he was
accompanied by his three bandmates, ex-Guns N’ Roses members Slash,
Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, according to a band spokesperson —
but admitted to a violation and is scheduled to report to the detox
program on Thursday night. A spokesperson for Weiland could not be
reached for comment by press time.
After his seven to ten days in detox, Weiland will be sent to
the residential drug rehab program for six months and then receive
outpatient care for a period of up to eighteen months. Weiland was
already in a court-ordered drug-counseling program stemming from
his arrest on May 17th on two felony charges of heroin and cocaine
possession.
The May arrest placed Weiland under California’s Prop 36, which
allows for some non-violent drug offenders to enter rehab instead
of jail. Weiland is allowed three violations; while this is only
his first violation, a third would result in a possible jail
sentence or a new trial. Authorities have not said what Weiland was
under the influence of when he was arrested on Monday.
Just last week, Serio congratulated Weiland for completing most
of the drug testing and counseling as a result of his no contest
plea in August to the two felony charges, but warned that another
dirty test would send him back to a treatment center. Though he
tested positive for drugs shortly after his May arrest, subsequent
tests have been clean. Weiland is due back in Serio’s courtroom on
January 9th for a progress report.
The singer has struggled with drug addition for nearly a decade,
including previous arrests for drug possession and multiple
attempts at rehabilitation.
Slash weighed in on the crash on his official fan site, which
reported that the guitarist said, “Scott did have the accident and
did attempt to leave [the scene], but he was not under the
influence of drugs or alcohol.”
Velvet Revolver is scheduled to perform a free show Thursday
night at the SmashBox in Culver City, California for an L.A.
Fashion Week swimwear show hosted by McKagan’s wife, Susan.