Howie Day was arrested at Logan International Airport for rowdy behavior on a Boston-bound flight after he became intoxicated from a mix of alcohol and a sleeping pill.
The 24-year-old pop singer pleaded innocent to a charge of interfering with a flight crew at his arraignment Friday in East Boston District Court. He was released on personal recognizance and refused to comment to reporters afterward. He's due back in court March 16.
Day, who is from Brewer, Maine, was returning home for the holidays and took a pill to help him sleep on the flight from Dallas, said his lawyer, Paul Kelley.
"He had a couple of drinks. The pill interacted with the drinks and he became intoxicated. He feels badly if he inconvenienced anyone, or caused any discomfort," Kelley told reporters outside court. "He has and will apologize, and our hope is that we'll be able to resolve this thing as promptly as possible."
David Procopio, a spokesman for the Suffolk District Attorney's office, said Day smoked a cigarette in the airplane bathroom.
"He was verbally abusive to the flight crew and was kicking the backs of seats of passengers in front of him," Procopio said.
The flight arrived at Logan on Thursday.
In March 2004, Day was arrested in Madison, Wis., for allegedly locking a woman in the bathroom of a tour bus after she refused his sexual advances. He then broke the cell phone of another woman who tried to call police, according to the criminal complaint.
The singer-songwriter received critical acclaim for his 2003 album, "Stop All the World Now."
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