Drummer's 8 months detention over threat

court

Sherna Noah

A New Zealand judge has sentenced AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd to eight months of home detention after the musician pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a man who used to work for him, along with possession of methamphetamine and marijuana.

The 61-year-old Australian (inset) had faced up to seven years in prison on the threatening to kill charge, but his lawyer had argued for the conviction to be set aside.

During the hearing, Tauranga District Court Judge Thomas Ingram said Rudd had a limited criminal history and posed a low risk of reoffending.

But Judge Ingram said Rudd had been found with a substantial amount of drugs, and rejected an argument that the death threat boiled down to one angry phone call.

Rudd has been on bail since pleading guilty to the charges in April, when he acknowledged in a court summary of facts that he had offered large amounts of cash, vehicles and a house to an associate after asking him to have the victim "taken out".

He also acknowledged that he had directly said to the victim he was going to kill him.