Pete Doherty escapes jail time again…and how is this even possible?
Pete Doherty smiled and hugged fans outside court Monday after a judge ruled he will not serve jail time for possession of drugs including heroin and crack cocaine.
District Judge Jane McIvor ordered the 27-year-old Babyshambles singer to pay $1,525 in fines and court costs and ordered him not to drive for four months. “I feel relieved,” Doherty told reporters outside Thames Magistrates’ Court in London.
The singer was arrested in April for possession of less than 2 grams each of heroin, cannabis and cocaine, just three hours after he was sentenced to two years of community service for previous drug offenses. The drugs were found in the vehicle he was in and at his home.
Doherty was arrested again Aug. 7 with a crack pipe and a small amount of crack cocaine, and pleaded guilty Aug. 18 to all five counts. “He’s not going to jail. It’s amazing,” said 16-year-old fan Georgina Raymond, who jumped up and down screaming into her cell phone, “I hugged him!”
In September, McIvor told Doherty he wouldn’t serve jail time for the charges if he continued rehabilitation, stayed employed and didn’t commit any other offenses. She also complimented him for his song “The Blinding.”
Doherty didn’t break any of the imposed restrictions, McIvor said. “Hitting your pocket is the way of punishing you in this case,” McIvor said Monday.
Doherty’s lawyer, Sean Curran, said there had been a “breakdown” in Doherty’s rehabilitation. Curran gave no details, but said he hoped Doherty would continue to make an effort to break his drug habit.
