FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP) – Former Phish frontman Trey Anastasio had heroin and painkillers in his car when he was arrested for weaving down a rural road near the Vermont border in December, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
The 42-year-old guitarist pleaded not guilty last month to misdemeanor charges of drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs.
An indictment handed up since then added a felony count of criminal possession of a controlled substance related to the discovery of the painkiller hydrocodone, Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright said Tuesday. The indictment also includes misdemeanor criminal possession charges for heroin, oxycodone and alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug.
Anastasio was also charged with failure to keep right, driving under the influence of drugs and driving while intoxicated, Kortright said.
Whitehall police pulled Anastasio over when they spotted his car weaving early on the morning of Dec. 15 about 65 miles north of Albany. Police said they found quantities of prescription drugs that had not been prescribed for him.
He is free on his own recognizance and could be back in court within a week.
A call to his lawyer was not immediately returned Tuesday.
Kortright said the maximum penalty for the felony count is seven years in prison.
Anastasio issued a written statement after his arrest saying he felt “terrible about what happened last night, and I am deeply sorry for any embarrassment I have caused my friends, family and fans.”
He lives in Richmond, Vt., and has been performing solo since Phish broke up in 2004.
Comments are no longer available on this story