Wendt Igonder blog

Bruno Mars to plead guilty to cocaine possession

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop singer Bruno Mars will plead guilty to a charge of possessing cocaine in Las Vegas last September and receive probation, among other sentencing requirements, according to a media report on Friday.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger told the Las Vegas Review Journal that Mars will be sentenced to a year of probation, pay a $2,000 fine, perform 200 hours of community service and attend drug counseling.

Mars, 25, rose to the top of the pop charts in 2010 with "Nothin' on You," his collaboration with rapper B.o.B. He co-wrote Travie McCoy's "Billionaire" and collaborated with Cee-Lo Green on Grammy-nominated song "F*ck You" before scoring a solo hit with the ballad "Just the Way You Are." More recently his "Grenade" has been topping music charts.

But 2010 was marred by his September arrest in which a bathroom attendant at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel saw Mars, whose real name is Peter Hernandez, with "a baggy of white powder," according to a police report at the time.

The powder was later tested and found to be cocaine.

Roger told the Las Vegas Review Journal that if Mars is able to complete his sentencing without getting into further trouble, he can withdraw his plea and the case will be dismissed. The newspaper said that type of sentencing was common in minor, first-time drug possession cases.

Mars had been due in court in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, for a February 4 preliminary hearing, but he will waive that appearance and a new court date will be scheduled where he will be expected to enter the guilty plea.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)