Phil Rudd is on the highway to his house. The AC/DC drummer, 61, has been sentenced to eight months of house detention.
Rudd was handed his sentence in New Zealand on Thursday, July 9, more than eight months after he was first arrested on multiple charges. The veteran musician pleaded guilty to charges of drug possession and threatening to kill.
The Australia-born rocker was arrested in November 2014, and found to be in possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. At the time of his arrest, Rudd was also charged with attempting to hire a hit man, but it was later dropped after law enforcement found insufficient evidence.
The Associated Press reports that Rudd's sentence was affected by his lack of criminal history, but also the large amount of drugs he was found with. While the drummer did verbally threaten to kill his former employee and explored methods of paying an "associate" to carry out the job, he was not given the seven-year prison term that was at stake.
As the musician spends the better part of a year in his Tauranga, New Zealand home, drummer Chris Slade will be performing with AC/DC in his place. Slade has been a part of the band's Rock or Bust World Tour, which is scheduled to continue through December.
Rudd's former bandmates broke the news in February that Slade would be taking over for Rudd. The group said in a statement at the time of Rudd's arrest in November, "We've only become aware of Phil's arrest as the news was breaking. We have no further comment. Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album Rock or Bust and upcoming tour next year."
