Ike Turner Pleads Innocent to Cocaine Sales Counts
Rhythm-and-blues musician Ike Turner pleaded innocent Friday to charges that he conspired to sell 10 ounces of cocaine to an undercover officer.
Turner, 55, appeared before Superior Court Judge Melvin Grover and pleaded innocent to one count each of possessing cocaine for sale, conspiring to sell the drug and maintaining a residence for the purpose of selling cocaine.
Also pleading innocent Friday to the felony cocaine charges were co-defendants Richard Griffin of Los Angeles, Eddie Coleman Jr. of Altadena and Willie Whitley of Pasadena, said Court Clerk Carol Teranishi.
The defendants, free on bail, were ordered to appear March 20 in Superior Court for pretrial motions.
Turner, whose career nose-dived in the late 1970s, once toured the country with former wife Tina Turner as the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.
Turner acknowledged recently that he had used cocaine daily for 15 years and said he was undergoing a rehabilitation program.
“When I faced the mirror, I knew I had to go back to reality,” Turner said.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
