The original policeman from the 1970s disco singing group, The Village People, is escorted into a San Mateo County courtroom in Redwood City, Calif., on July 19, 2006, before he pleaded no contest to drug possession charges. Willis plans to enter a treatment program, his publicist said. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Friday, Sept.1, 2006. A judge will decide whether Willis should serve prison time. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Former Village People Singer Plans Rehab
Thursday, August 31, 2006 2:28 PM EDT
The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Victor Willis, the original policeman in the '70s disco band The Village People, plans to enter a treatment program following his no contest plea to drug possession charges, his publicist said.
Willis, 54, was arrested in March in South San Francisco after police stopped his car and found cocaine and drug paraphernalia. He had been wanted since October after failing to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court on another drug charge.
He entered his plea in July, and a sentencing hearing was scheduled for Friday. A judge will decide whether Willis should serve prison time.
The San Mateo County Probation Department provided a report Wednesday to Willis' attorney, Mark Geragos, recommending that Willis receive supervised probation on the condition he completes a residential treatment program, said Alice Wolf, the singer's San Diego-based publicist.
Willis, who has been in custody since his arrest, plans to begin a 90-day treatment program at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage upon his release, Wolf said.
He will then move to a secondary residential treatment program in Southern California for an additional six months or longer, Wolf said.
Willis, who co-wrote the hits "Macho Man," "YMCA" and "In the Navy," left The Village People in 1980.