Pointer Sister Busted
By Josh Grossberg
We’re guessing this Pointer Sister is not so excited about her run-in with the law.
June Pointer Whitmore, the youngest member of the hit-making, Grammy-winning R&B diva outfit, was arrested last Thursday night with two other people outside older sister Bonnie Pointer’s Hollywood apartment and charged with possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
June, 50, was released on $10,000 bail Saturday. Bonnie, who exited the Pointer Sisters in 1978 to make the jump to a solo career with Motown Records, was not charged in the case.
According to Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, police confronted Whitmore and her pals outside after responding to citizen complaints. A subsequent search turned up the drugs and pipes, and the singer was booked on one count of cocaine possession and one count of possessing an “illegal smoking device.”
If convicted, Whitmore would, as a first-time offender, avoid the maximum three-year prison term. Instead, under California law she would automatically be eligible to enter a drug treatment program that, once completed, would allow her record to be wiped clean.
The group’s attorney, Marty Singer, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
But Singer told Reuters that Whitmore had stopped performing over four years ago after her drug habit caused her to miss several gigs. Fed up, the two remaining Pointer Sisters, Anita and Ruth, got a court order barring June from the group and granting them exclusive control over the Pointer Sisters name.
Ruth’s daughter, Issa, took June’s place and the group continues to perform on the oldies circuit. The reconstituted trio was in Montana last week finishing a DVD and are scheduled to travel to Belgium to kick off a European tour.
During their heyday in the 1970s and ’80s, the original lineup of Ruth, Anita, June and Bonnie were fixtures on the charts and won a Grammy for 1974’s “Fairytale.” After Bonnie left, they became even more popular, scoring a string of hits, including the million-selling cover of Bruce Springsteen “Fire,” as well as “Slow Hand,” “He’s So Shy,” “I’m So Excited” and the twin 1984 smashes, “Jump (for My Love)” and “Automatic,” both of which earned Grammys for the trio. Their popularity waned during the ’90s, but they continued to perform and also starred in a touring production of Ain’t Misbehavin’.
Whitmore’s arraignment is scheduled for Friday.