Rudd faces fight for discharge - expert

Embattled AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd will face a difficult battle to escape conviction on charges he yesterday pleaded guilty to, legal experts say.

What had been set down as a judge-alone trial in the Tauranga District Court took a surprise turn when the veteran rocker admitted to threatening to kill a former employee, as well as possession of cannabis and methamphetamine.

A second charge of threatening to kill was also dropped by police, who last year dramatically withdrew a charge of attempting to procure a murder the day after it was laid against the 60-year-old.

Judge Robert Wolff remanded Rudd on bail to re-appear for sentencing on June 26, when an application for discharge without conviction - to be opposed by the Crown - will be heard.

It will not be the first time the high-profile Tauranga resident has attempted to avoid conviction.

In 2007, he escaped a conviction after pleading guilty to common assault following an incident on his luxury launch, on the grounds it would hurt his career.

Five years later, he succeeded in avoiding a cannabis conviction, which he argued would have stopped him from continuing to tour with AC/DC.

But legal experts told the Herald it would be difficult for Rudd to challenge conviction given the charges he now faces.

The charge of threatening to kill carries a maximum penalty of seven years' jail, while possession of methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment and/or a $1000 fine, and possession of cannabis carries three months' imprisonment and/or a $500 fine.

Associate Professor Scott Optican, of the University of Auckland's Faculty of Law, said applications for discharge without conviction typically accepted the crimes alleged but argued the consequences of conviction would be disproportionate.

"I think anybody has an uphill battle trying to get a discharge without conviction just in general, and obviously the seriousness of the charges would clearly factor into it."

Professor Geoff Hall, a sentencing expert at Otago University, also said arguing for a discharge without conviction would be "a difficult task".

Rudd, who arrived at court in a Mercedes sports car, refused to answer questions as security guards shielded him from media.

In court, it emerged Rudd had been angry over the handling of his solo album Head Job - and particularly angry with one employee among those he sacked.

According to court documents, Rudd phoned an associate holidaying in Australia and said he wanted the person "taken out".

When asked what he meant by that, Rudd said he wanted them "taken care of" because "they were a bunch of f*****s and c***s".

In another call, Rudd offered $200,000, a motorbike, one of his cars or a house to the associate, who took this to mean as payment for carrying out his earlier request.

On September 26, Rudd told the former worker he was going to "come over and kill you" and then repeated "I'm going to come over and kill you, you f****** c***."

Further phone calls from Rudd left the ex-worker, who declined to comment when approached by the Herald yesterday, "genuinely very fearful for his safety".

When police later raided Rudd's million-dollar waterfront home on November 6, they recovered 0.478g of methamphetamine and 91g of cannabis.

Outside court, Rudd's lawyer Craig Tuck said the threatening to kill charge essentially "revolved around an angry phone call - that was it".

The Crown v Phil Rudd

The charges Rudd has admitted to:
• Threatening to kill
• Possession of a Class A controlled drug (methamphetamine)
• Possession of a Class C controlled drug (cannabis)
Dropped charges:
• Threatening to kill (second count, withdrawn yesterday)
• Attempting to procure a murder (withdrawn on November 7).