Boy George drugs court case postponed
A Manhattan court appearance by Boy George on drugs charges was adjourned today until next year. The singer was said to be in England.
Criminal Court Judge Patricia Nunez granted the adjournment until February 1 at the request of both the defence and prosecution lawyers. Boy George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, would be expected to be in court then.
The judge asked whether the case was close to a resolution and Assistant District Attorney Craig Ortner said he and O’Dowd’s lawyer had held discussions.
But Lewis Freeman, O’Dowd’s lawyer, said no plea negotiations had yet taken place.
Freeman said outside court that the British singer and disc jockey, who is the former front man for the now-defunct pop-rock group Culture Club, was excused from this court date so he could work on literary and recording projects in England.
O’Dowd was arrested on October 7 on drug charges after he called police to report what he said was a pre-dawn burglary in his Manhattan apartment.
Officers who went to the apartment said they found a small amount of cocaine next to a computer, police said.
O’Dowd was released without bail after being arraigned on a charge of cocaine possession, Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said at the time.
Freeman denied that the cocaine belonged to his client.
O’Dowd has had drug problems before. In 1986, he was convicted for heroin possession in England. Two of his friends overdosed in the incident that got him arrested and O’Dowd was forced into a rehabilitation programme.
The conviction reportedly led to the disintegration of Culture Club a year later.
O’Dowd is famous for his androgynous persona and Culture Club hits, including Karma Chameleon and Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
