Babyshambles lead singer Pete Doherty
© AFP/File Carl De SouzaLONDON (AFP) - Wearing his trade mark trilby hat, black suit and open-necked black shirt, Doherty, 28, arrived more than two hours late to the West London Magistrates Court, moments after Judge Davinder Lachhar issued a warrant for his arrest.
He pleaded guilty to possessing Class A and Class C drugs -- crack cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ketamine -- and to an extra charge of failing to appear in court without a reasonable excuse.
His lawyer Sean Curran was summoned to court twice to explain his client's whereabouts but was at first given more time to find the singer.
But as it neared noon, Lachhar became impatient and she told Curran: "This is a court of law. He should have been here at 9:30 and he wasn't so I am issuing a warrant with no bail."
The disheveled Babyshambles singer -- the on-off boyfriend of top model Kate Moss -- finally arrived moments later, facing a barrage of photographers as he wound his way to the court entrance after a car dropped him off.
He was heard mumbling to waiting journalists that he was "a bit nervous" about the hearing -- and then spent several minutes in an interview room with lawyers and police.
In court, he struggled to give his new address and eventually did so through his lawyer before pleading guilty to the six charges linked to offences committed on May 5 when he was stopped in a car in central London.
Curran argued that the charges related to "small amounts" of illegal drugs and that the singer had been working extremely hard on his new album at the time of his arrest.
The judge said she was considering all options before adjourning the case until later in the afternoon.
Doherty has repeatedly sought treatment for drug addiction in countries including Britain, France and Thailand.
In December he was fined 770 pounds (1,129 euros, 1,536 dollars) and banned from driving for four months for possessing illegal drugs, including crack cocaine and heroin.
©AFP