British rocker Doherty likely to admit affray in Paris court plea: lawyer

[November 12, 2019]  By Dominique Vidalon and Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS (Reuters) - British indie rocker Pete Doherty is likely to plead guilty to charges of affray in a Paris court on Tuesday, his lawyer said, as his band gears up for a European tour.

The 40 year-old Libertines frontman will appear before the Paris public prosecutor on Tuesday morning, said his lawyer Arash Derambarsh.

He was arrested early on Sunday morning following an argument with members of the public, just hours after having been released following an earlier arrest for possession of cocaine.

"We are likely to enter a guilty plea," Derambarsh said, adding no-one was hurt as a result of the weekend altercation.

Doherty shot to fame in the mid-2000s, when he dated supermodel Kate Moss, and has since been arrested numerous times for drug offences.

Doherty was arrested in the Pigalle district of northern Paris in the night of Thursday to Friday for buying cocaine and provisionally fined 5,000 euros, the Paris prosecutor's office and his lawyer have said.

After being released he went out to celebrate, taking alcohol, sleeping pills and valium, Derambarsh said.

Doherty, who has homes in Paris and Margate, got into an argument with two passers-by that led to his eventual re-arrest. "He lost control. He is ashamed of himself. He knows his behavior is unacceptable," added his lawyer.

The Libertines, who played the Olympia venue in Paris on Oct. 27, are due to embark on a European tour this month.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by John Stonestreet)

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