Courtney Pleads Innocent
First Courtney Love told David Letterman she’s innocent. Then she told Jay Leno she’s innocent. On Friday, she finally got to tell someone even more important–a judge–that, yes, she’s innocent.
The America’s Sweetheart singer turned up for her arraignment in Beverly Hills Superior Court Friday and pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of drug possession stemming from her well documented October meltdown.
Decked out in a black trench coat, Love, 39, was generally subdued during the proceedings. She kept quiet, thumbing through a book, until it was time for her to enter her plea.
Love faces up to three years and eight months in prison if convicted of the two counts; she was ordered back to court for a pretrial hearing on June 4.
Judge Elden S. Fox already ruled two weeks ago that there was sufficient evidence for Love to stand trial.
That came after Love’s arresting officer testified that the grunge survivor had a small baggie containing two pills–one was hydrocodone, better known as Vicodin, and the other, oxycodone, aka Percocet. The officer said Love referred to the bag as “her stash.”
Addressing reporters outside court on Friday, Love’s lawyer, Michael Rosenstein, said the charges are bogus. He claims Love had prescriptions for the painkillers.
Love was rung up on the drug charges following an extremely bad day. Last Oct. 2, the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was first corralled by police outside the home of an ex-boyfriend, Jim Barber. She was standing in the middle of street after smashing a window in an attempt to break into his place.
While Barber declined to press charges, officers subsequently booked her on misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of opiates and cocaine. Another charge, of disorderly conduct, was added later.
After posting $2,500 bail, Love retreated to her Beverly Hills abode where she allegedly overdosed on painkillers in front of her 11-year-old daughter, Frances Bean. After recovering in a hospital, prosecutors charged the volatile rocker-actress with illegal possession of the painkillers.
Love, who has called the charges retarded, is due in court on Monday for a hearing on the misdemeanor charges, which are being tried separately.
If her L.A. legal woes weren’t bad enough, Love is also facing charges in New York for a post-Letterman incident in which she allegedly clocked a guy in the head with a microphone stand. She’s also being sued by her New York condo board for failing to pay any bills since the October arrest.
When not keeping company with her lawyers, Love has been trying to support her underperforming first solo album, America’s Sweetheart.
Love and her band Chelsea are scheduled to headline the last day of Atlanta’s Music Midtown Festival on May 2. Beyond that, no other dates have been announced, save for Courtney performing at a special wedding ceremony in Lake Tahoe and giving a champagne toast for a group of lucky winners as part of a nationwide radio station contest.
Potential victims can check out the details on Love’s Website, kittyradio.com.
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