George Clinton was arrested on Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida, and charged with a felony count of cocaine possession.

The sixty-two-year-old Parliament/Funkadelic founder and funk legend was approached by police around 2 a.m. at a Circle K parking lot, where he was sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Clinton allegedly dropped a crack pipe between the seats, earning a misdemeanor charge for possession of drug paraphernalia. Upon being questioned by an officer, Clinton admitted that he was in possession of cocaine and was arrested. A plastic bag retrieved by police tested positive for cocaine.

Clinton posted a $2,650 bond over the weekend and was released from the Leon County Jail. The felony charge carries a maximum of five years in prison, though the case could also go to drug court, where the charges would be dropped if Clinton successfully completes a rehabilitation program.

MARC W. DOLECH
(December 9, 2003)