By Lisa Sweetingham Court TV
Singer Courtney Love, who is facing criminal charges in three cities, kicks off her 2004 courtroom tour in Los Angeles Superior Court this week. Love will stand trial Tuesday for misdemeanor drug charges stemming from an October 2003 incident in which she allegedly attempted to break into an ex-boyfriend's home at night. Love, 39, is charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance. If convicted, she faces a maximum one-year prison sentence. She also has a June 4 hearing in a Beverly Hills courthouse for felony drug charges related to an alleged overdose that occurred later that evening. On Oct. 2, 2003, 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 Barber, her former manager and boyfriend, was out of town and that she had broken a window in his home in an effort to retrieve a CD. When police found Barber inside his home, he 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 OxyContin. She was arrested and, according to court documents, she tested positive for cocaine and opiates. Love's attorney, Michael Rosenstein, unsuccessfully argued to suppress evidence from the drug test, claiming police should have released Love once they discovered a burglary had not taken place. Jury selection for her misdemeanor trial is slated for Tuesday. However, she may dodge a trial if she agrees to complete a licensed drug-rehab program. Love also is expected to appear next week at Beverly Hills Superior Court, where she faces felony drug charges. 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, also known as OxyContin and Vicodin, respectively. Authorities said she did not have prescriptions for the pills. The singer is then due at a Manhattan criminal court next month, where she faces two counts of third-degree-assault and one count of second-degree reckless endangerment. On March 18, Love gave a concert in an East Village club to promote her new album, "America's Sweetheart." The rocker allegedly threw a mic stand into the audience and struck a fan in the head, causing "lacerations, bleeding and substantial pain" according to court documents. Love allegedly told an officer on the scene that she did not even have a microphone in her hand. Another officer claimed in court papers that the talkative defendant told him, "The police have a conspiracy against rocker chicks." She pleaded not guilty on May 13 and was released on her own recognizance. The next hearing in that case is set for June 28. Court TV will broadcast Love's trial in Los Angeles. |