Courtney Love admits drug use to avoid possible jail time
By Lisa Sweetingham, Court TV
(Court TV) —
Singer Courtney Love pleaded guilty in Los Angeles Tuesday to one count of
being under the influence of a controlled substance. Love, 39, will enter a
drug-rehab program as part of her plea agreement, with sentencing scheduled
for July 16. The misdemeanor drug charge stems from an October 2003 arrest
when police found the rocker allegedly breaking into the home of an
ex-boyfriend. If she successfully completes rehab, the guilty plea will be
expunged from her record. On Oct. 2, at about 2:40 a.m., police responded
to a possible burglary call outside the Los Angeles home of former Geffen
Records executive Jim Barber. When officers arrived at the scene, Love was
walking down the driveway and waving to a police helicopter above, according
to the LAPD. Love allegedly told police that she was trying to
retrieve a CD from Barber's home and had broken a few windows. Barber
indicated he did not want to press charges. An officer testified at a
preliminary hearing that Love's speech was slurred and her pupils were
dilated. She allegedly admitted to having taken "hillbilly heroin," the
slang term for the painkiller OxyContin. She was arrested and, according to
court documents, tested positive for cocaine and opiates. Love avoided
a possible year in prison with her plea, and she will take part in a
customized outpatient drug interdiction program for an unspecified period of
time. She is still scheduled to appear in a Beverly Hills courthouse
next week on felony drug charges related to an alleged overdose that
occurred later that evening. According to reports, paramedics were
sent to the rocker's Beverly Hills home some time after she was released
from the Barber incident. She was taken to the hospital and treated for what
appeared to be an overdose of painkillers. Love was charged with two
counts of possession of a controlled substance, oxycodone and hydrocodone,
for which she did not have prescriptions. It's not clear yet how her
decision to attend rehab will affect those charges.
