"Idol" Finalist Dodged Cocaine Rap
APRIL 28--One of the five remaining "American Idol" finalists was once arrested for felony cocaine possession, but had the charge dismissed last year after completing a so-called "diversion program" for first-time offenders, The Smoking Gun has learned. Harold "Bo" Bice, 29, was busted in June 2001 by Huntsville, Alabama cops and hit with the drug count, a Class C felony, according to the below warrant (Bice posted $1000 bond and was released from the Madison County Jail). After being postponed for a week at the request of prosecutors, a District Court preliminary hearing was set for August 29, 2001. But when a Huntsville Police Department investigator did not show, Judge Susan Moquin dismissed the Bice case, according to a court docket. But with prosecutors prepared to refile the felony count, Bice opted to enter a drug diversion program overseen by the district attorney's office, according to Heather Douglas, spokesperson for the Madison County D.A.. Bice entered the program in 2003 and, after successfully completing it, the coke case was bounced on April 28, 2004, Douglas said. Details of what Bice had to do in the diversion program are confidential, Douglas added. However, similar programs often require enrollees to submit to urine tests, undergo drug counseling, and attend awareness classes. If convicted of the felony charge, Bice would have faced a maximum of 10 years in jail, though a probationary term would have been more likely. A police spokesperson told TSG that the arresting officer, Mike Armstrong, no longer worked for the department and that the administrative officer on the case, Sgt. Michael Izzo, could not recall any details of the Bice bust. Court records do not describe the circumstances of Bice's arrest, except for the address where he was popped, a small strip mall. Bice, who worked at the time in a Huntsville bar, is a long-haired rocker whose gritty appearance and performances have stood out from "American Idol"'s usual pop pablum. On Fox Television's "Idol" web site, Bice reports that his "most embarrassing moment" was when he once "fell off stage during a show." (3 pages)
