TAURANGA, NZ (CelebrityAccess) — Phil Rudd, a drummer with the rock group AC/DC, has been sentenced in New Zealand to eight months of house arrest on charges of drug possession and making threats to kill.
The 61-year-old Australian plead guilty to the charges in April. He was accused of threatening to 'take out' a former employee and while police were conducting an investigation into the threats, they discovered marijuana and methamphetamine at his beachfront home Tauranga.
Rudd could have faced up to seven years in prison for the threatening charges.
The charges stem from an incident in September when Rudd telephoned an associate in Australia, saying he wanted a former emploee to be 'taken care of' according to court documents. Rudd offered te associated $135,000 in cash, as well as a motorccle and one of his cars, or a house, which the associate assumed would be payment for the killing.
Rudd also threatened the emploee directly, saying, "I'm going to come over and kill you."
Rudd's lawyers argued that the threats were just an angry phone call and that he had no real intent to see the former employee harmed.
AC/DC is currently on the road sans Rudd, with Chris Slade filling in on the drums. – Staff Writers
