Guitarist Cleared Of Air-Rage Charges
Incident Occurred From Seattle To London Flight
POSTED: 8:11 a.m. EST April 5, 2002
R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck was acquitted of air-rage charges Friday in a London court.
According to Reuters News Services, the jury found Buck not guilty of being drunk on an aircraft, two counts of assaulting British Airways crew members, and one charge of damaging airplane property.
Buck, 45, was accused of air-rage stemming from an incident last April when he allegedly went on a drunken rampage through the first-class cabin on a British Airways flight from Seattle to London. The prosecutors in the case claimed Buck drank 15 glasses of wine, overturned a trolley on the plane, assaulted two flight crew members, tried to hide a knife up his sleeve, and tried to open the emergency exit of the plane, reported Reuters.
His defense, on the other hand, claimed Buck blacked out after mixing alcohol and sleeping pills.
Buck was the beneficiary of several character witnesses during the three-week trial including U2 lead singer Bono, who said he has never seen Buck taking drugs or drinking alcohol, and R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, who called his bandmate "gentle and kind."
"I am very sorry for the incident and, of course, very embarrassed about the whole thing," Buck said in a statement after the incident year, reported Reuters.
According to Reuters News Services, the jury found Buck not guilty of being drunk on an aircraft, two counts of assaulting British Airways crew members, and one charge of damaging airplane property.
Buck, 45, was accused of air-rage stemming from an incident last April when he allegedly went on a drunken rampage through the first-class cabin on a British Airways flight from Seattle to London. The prosecutors in the case claimed Buck drank 15 glasses of wine, overturned a trolley on the plane, assaulted two flight crew members, tried to hide a knife up his sleeve, and tried to open the emergency exit of the plane, reported Reuters.
His defense, on the other hand, claimed Buck blacked out after mixing alcohol and sleeping pills.
Buck was the beneficiary of several character witnesses during the three-week trial including U2 lead singer Bono, who said he has never seen Buck taking drugs or drinking alcohol, and R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, who called his bandmate "gentle and kind."
"I am very sorry for the incident and, of course, very embarrassed about the whole thing," Buck said in a statement after the incident year, reported Reuters.Copyright 2002 by Lifewhile.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
