AC/DC drummer Rudd pleads guilty to death threat charge

Rudd, who appeared at a New Zealand court, faces up to seven years in prison on the threatening to kill charge, although his lawyer Craig Tuck said the prosecution case boils down to an angry phone call, and he is seeking a remedy that would involve no legal consequences for Rudd.

But the musician acknowledged in a court summary of facts that he’d offered large amounts of cash, vehicles and a house to an associate after asking him to have the victim “taken out” and that he’d also directly said to the victim he was going to kill him.

The 60-year-old drummer, who also pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, was released on bail pending a June sentencing hearing.

AC/DC will use Welsh drummer Chris Slade for their upcoming Rock Or Bust album tour, but haven’t said if that is a long-term arrangement.

Rudd’s guilty plea means he has avoided a trial, and prosecutors agreed to drop a second charge of threatening to kill. Earlier, citing a lack of evidence, prosecutors had dropped a murder-for-hire charge.

The dispute is said to have begun in August on the night that Rudd released his solo album, Head Job, and threw a party at his restaurant, but was worried security wasn’t tight enough.

He sacked a number of people, including the victim, and a week later called an associate to say he wanted the victim “taken out”, according to the court summary. When asked to clarify, Rudd said he wanted the victim “taken care of”.

In another call, Rudd is said to have offered the associate “Two hundred thousand dollars, a motorbike, one of his cars or a house”, which the associate took to mean as payment “for carrying out his earlier request”.

The morning after calling his associate, Rudd called the victim directly, saying: “I’m going to come over and kill you,” according to the court summary.

During a search of Rudd’s home, police found 0.48 grams of methamphetamine and 91 grams of marijuana, according to the summary.