As we reported yesterday, Mic Todd, the bass player for metal band Coheed and Cambria, was arrested on Sunday at a venue in Massachusetts where the band was scheduled to play. Todd's alleged crime? He reportedly walked into a Walgreens, claimed he had a bomb, and demanded six bottles of Oxycontin.
While Todd's charges are pretty serious, his alleged crime isn't the stupidest we've heard of, nor is his arrest the most salacious. Here are five other musicians who were arrested on various charges, ranging from indecent exposure to impersonating a federal agent.
DMX: In June, 2004, rapper DMX added to his already lengthy rap sheet when he was arrested for the umpteenth time, this time at JFK International Airport in New York. The charges were grand even by DMX standards: He'd reportedly tried to steal a car by telling the driver he was an FBI agent, then crashed his SUV through an airport parking lot gate. In the SUV, police found a billy club and a bag of crack. DMX was charged with impersonating a federal agent, possession of cocaine, possession of a weapon, criminal mischief, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and attempted carjacking. And in an equally unbelievable resolution, he pleaded guilty, paid several fines, and only served a seven-day sentence.
James Brown: In 1988, the Godfather of Soul was arrested on several driving and drug-related offenses after leading police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 20 near the Georgia-South Carolina border. The FBI file on Brown, released in 2007, relates that local police shot at Brown's car several times and assaulted him after his arrest (local authorities denied those allegations). Brown was sentenced to six years in prison and released in 1991, after serving three years.
Wendy O. Williams: In January of 1981, Williams (singer for The Plasmatics, a pretty big metal/punk band at the time) was arrested after a show in Milwaukee and charged with simulating sex on stage. Williams, known for performing in scant outfits with just shaving cream or electrical tape over her nipples, reportedly started to go peacefully with officers, but asserted that as she entered the police van, an officer grabbed her ass. Williams slapped him, which snowballed into a violent police assault on the singer. Luckily, while Williams was face-down and bloody in the snow, several fans snapped photos. In court, Williams was cleared of charges of obscenity and battery to an officer.
Jim Morrison: During a 1969 concert in Miami, the legendary singer of The Doors tried (unsuccessfully) to incite a riot, but did allegedly manage to pull his penis out and announce he was going to piss on the stage. A warrant for his arrest was issued three days after the show by the Dade County Police Department, many Doors shows on that tour were canceled, and Morrison died before ever being formally charged. Doors drummer John Densmore denies Morrison exposed himself on stage in Miami, and in 2010, Florida governor Charlie Crist granted Morrison a posthumous pardon.
