SoCal Hardcore Legend Casey Royer Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail
Casey Royer, founding member of D.I., The Adolescents, and former drummer of California punk legends Social Distortion, was sentenced to 90 days in jail yesterday at the Orange County Superior Court. The musician pled guilty to one count of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Royer's troubles began in early March, when he was arrested after allegedly overdosing on heroin in front of his 12-year-old son.
According to TMZ, the child ran next door and got a neighbor to call for help. When the police arrived, they found drug paraphernalia in Royer's house.
Royer, 52, was rushed to the hospital and was arrested after being revived. He was later charged with one count of child endangerment and one count of being under the influence of heroin. Royer was held on $120,000 bail. The child endangerment charge was dropped after Royer agreed to cop to the heroin possession charge.
In 1978, Royer played drums in the original line-up of Social Distortion. He left the band a year later along with Rikk and Frank Agnew. The three musicians then formed The Adolescents. When that band took a hiatus in the early '80s, Royer formed seminal hardcore punkers D.I. Bands like Pennywise and Face to Face have cited D.I. as a prime influence on their own music. D.I.'s most recent album, 'On the Western Front, came out in 2007.
Watch the video for 'On the Western Front'