Singer David Crosby Freed After Five Months in Prison

Singer David Crosby, imprisoned for five months on narcotics and weapons charges, was paroled from prison Friday and said he was glad to be off drugs.

“I’m very happy, I’m extremely happy. I don’t have much to say, but I thank you all for coming,” Crosby said as he was hustled down some stairs at the state Corrections Department’s Walls Unit.

Crosby’s manager, Bill Siddons, led the former member of the group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young into a waiting car that quickly left the prison.

Two Dozen Wait

About two dozen people waited outside the prison to watch Crosby’s release.

“It doesn’t make any difference what he did if he comes out and makes music like David Crosby used to make music,” said Monica Aguilar of Huntsville, who waited for 2 1/2 hours to see him.

Crosby, 45, who was serving a five-year term for drug and weapons charges, entered the prison March 6. He was approved for parole last month.

The singer will live in a halfway house in Houston until California corrections authorities approve his request to live there, prison spokesman Charles Brown said.

Seeks Return to California

Crosby requested that the remaining three years of his sentence be served on parole in Los Angeles because he wants to live with relatives and work in the area, a corrections spokesman said.

While in prison, Crosby wrote songs and developed screenplays. He also wrote to Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young about getting back as a group, Siddons said. The response, he said, has been favorable.

Crosby gained fame as a member of the Byrds in the late 1960s. He later teamed with Nash, Stills and Young to write and perform popular songs.