SLIPKNOT Bassist Arrested On Drug Charges

SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and a red light violation Sunday afternoon (June 1) following a traffic crash, according to the Des Moines Register.

Des Moines police officer Larry Van Ginkel said small amounts of marijuana and a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine were found in Gray's red 2001 Porsche. Two syringes were found in the car.

The crash occurred about 3:45 p.m. Sunday at Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Carpenter Avenue. Gray's car collided with a car driven by Yvette Rochon of Des Moines, police said.

Rochon said she was proceeding through the intersection on a green light when the crash occurred. Gray tried to exchange information about himself, "but I couldn't read it," Rochon said. "He tried again but I still couldn't understand it."

She said she sent her daughter to call her husband from a pay phone. Police arrived and tried to sort out what happened.

"He tried to write me a check, but my husband gave it to police," Rochon said. "I don't know how much it was for. He said he had to get to rehearsal and that he was a rock-something."

Rochon said that immediately after the accident occurred Gray told her he was on medication. "Then he said his brakes went out."

Police said Gray, a bassist for the band, was taken to a local hospital. A police report said Gray "had impaired balance, slurred and dull speech, and extremely sleepy and dull behavior."

He was later taken to the Polk County Jail.

Tests will be conducted on a lab sample provided by Gray. Additional charges stemming from the test results could take several weeks, police said.

Police said there were no serious injuries in the accident.