Bauhaus' Peter Murphy held in Glendale DUI hit-and-run case

Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy held in Glendale DUI hit-and-run case

By August Brown

March 19, 2013 12 AM PT

The pioneering goth-rocker Peter Murphy’s nightlife took a dark turn Saturday, when the 55-year-old singer was arrested after he allegedly rear-ended a vehicle in Glendale, injured the driver, then fled to Los Angeles, where he was blocked by an eyewitness until police arrived, officials said.

According to a report in the Glendale News-Press, quoting Glendale police, the British singer, known for fronting the goth-rock group Bauhaus in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, was driving a Subaru Forester that reportedly hit a Mercedes shortly before noon. The crash injured the driver, police said.

According to officials, Murphy then fled the scene in his vehicle, while a bystander snapped a photo of his license plate and called police. Another witness followed Murphy in a pickup truck and blocked his car until police arrived, officials said.

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Officers noted that Murphy looked “very confused” at the time of the arrest and that he claimed to be jet lagged. Murphy also denied drinking that day, adding that he’d only taken his regular prescription pills for depression, police said.

Officers found what appeared to be a bag of methamphetamine in the Los Angeles police car where Murphy had been detained, police said, adding that Murphy denied the bag belonged to him, but officers said they believed he was trying to discard it in the patrol car.

Murphy was arrested on suspicion of causing injuries while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, felony hit-and-run and possessing methamphetamine, police said.

He was held on $500,000 bail after a judge deemed him a flight risk. Murphy currently lives in Turkey.

The arrest comes at an inauspicious time -- Bauhuas just reissued its landmark albums “In the Flat Field” and “Mask” on 4AD Records, and Murphy was due to play a Bauhaus 35th anniversary show at the Fonda Theatre in July.

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