Caught with heroin in a hotel room, this veteran guitarist walked out of court without a day in prison — the judge instead ordered him to play a free concert for the blind.
The full story
Keith Richards was arrested in a Toronto hotel room in February 1977. The Crown dropped charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and of cocaine possession, and he pleaded guilty to simple heroin possession. On 24 October 1978 Judge Lloyd Graburn imposed a one-year suspended sentence and one year's probation with no jail and no fine, ordering him to continue treatment and to stage a benefit concert for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind within six months. The Rolling Stones and the New Barbarians played two free CNIB shows in Oshawa, Ontario, on 22 April 1979.
The clues we handed out
— He got a one-year suspended sentence and a year's probation. No jail, no fine.
— The heavier charge, possession for the purpose of trafficking, was dropped before he entered his plea.
— The concerts actually happened: two free shows in a small Canadian city about six months later.
— His band was, and still is, one of the two or three biggest in the history of rock.
— Initials: K.R.
How this case played
ALLEGEDLY* edition No. 60. Three strikes to name Keith Richards, with a free clue
unlocked after every miss.
*A blind item you can check. Every puzzle is drawn from the public record —
court records, official rulings, and moments that unfolded on live television — and the
records are linked above. Allegedly.
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