TAURANGA, New Zealand (AP) – AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd pleaded guilty in a New Zealand court Tuesday to a charge of threatening to kill a man who used to work for him. He also pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine and marijuana.
Rudd faces up to seven years in prison on the threatening to kill charge, although his lawyer Craig Tuck said the prosecution case boils down to an angry phone call, and he is seeking a remedy that would involve no legal consequences for Rudd.
Rudd acknowledged in a court summary of facts that he’d offered large amounts of cash, vehicles and a house to an associate after asking him to have the victim “taken out” and that he’d also directly said to the victim he was going to kill him.
The 60-year-old drummer was released on bail pending a June sentencing hearing.
Rudd arrived at the Tauranga court house in a sports car wearing sunglasses and a red tie, and didn’t say anything during his brief appearance other than to enter his guilty pleas.