NEWSPanic! At The Disco’s Original Bassist Brent Wilson Facing Drug & Gun Charges
Panic! At The Disco’s original bassist, Brent Wilson, is reportedly facing several felonies for drugs and possession of a gun.
On January 22, the 33-year-old was pulled over by Las Vegas officers after he allegedly crossed three lanes of traffic "without a turn signal, cutting off oncoming traffic," according to a Las Vegas Metro PD report.
An officer saw a bag with a white substance inside, and the rest of the vehicle was searched. Substances consistent with cocaine and heroin were found in the car and in Wilson’s pockets. A scale and small bags were also discovered, in addition to a loaded handgun.
Wilson was reportedly on probation for a previous offense and was charged with possession with intent to sell, as well as possession of a gun by a prohibited person.
His attorney Dustin Marcello told TMZ "it's too early to make a forecast on the case based on its merits."
Wilson was a founding member of Panic! At The Disco, along with frontman and guitarist Brendon Urie, guitarist Ryan Ross and drummer Spencer Smith in 2004 but was axed from the band in 2006. Wilson was replaced by Jon Walker, who left the group with Ross in 2009.
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"I was kicked out of the band," Wilson told MTV at the time. "It was 100 percent a surprise to me. We were about to leave for a show in California, and they called me the night before and told me I was out of the band. The only reason they gave was that it was for 'musical purposes.'
"Everything was good and fine, we had just gotten back from a tour in Europe, and there had been no previous conversations about anyone leaving the band," he added.
Smith, who was the drummer for the band until 2015, said it was actually Wilson’s "lack of responsibility and the fact that he wasn't progressing musically with the band" that got him kicked out.
Smith also claimed that Wilson didn’t play bass on their 2005 debut album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.
"Brent did not write any of his bass parts on [the album]," Smith explained. "Brent did not record one note of bass on the record. Brendon and Ryan wrote all of the bass parts, and Brendon recorded all of the bass parts. We had to simplify some of the bass parts that were recorded because Brent could not play them live."
According to Wilson's Twitter bio, he works as an accountant and musician.
TMZ was the first to report on Wilson’s drug and gun charges.
