Phil Rudd, longtime drummer for the rock bank AC/DC, has unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty on a charge that he threatened to kill a former employee he had fired after a solo album failed to sell well, a court in Tauranga, New Zealand, said Tuesday. Rudd also pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and methamphetamine.
According to court documents, Rudd called an associate in September and said he wanted one of the fired employees "taken out," then later offered that same associate about $150,000 plus "a motorbike, one of his cars, or a house," apparently to carry out the earlier request. Rudd also allegedly called the unidentified ex-employee and threatened to "come over and kill you," which frightened the worker, BBC News reports. A second murder-for-hire charge was dropped due to lack of evidence.
Rudd's lawyer, Craig Tuck, downplayed the seriousness of the charge, saying it "essentially revolved around an angry phone call — that was it." But it could land Rudd in prison for up to seven years, plus nine months for the drug charges. He is free on bail until a hearing in June.
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