Arrest Warrant Issued For Former PEARL JAM Drummer DAVE ABBRUZZESE

According to the Denton County Crime Stoppers web site, an arrest warrant has been issued for Dave Abbruzzese, who played drums for PEARL JAM from 1991 until 1994. The musician is wanted in Texas on charges involving controlled substances.

The charges — which date back to September 26, 2014 — include possession of a controlled substance for an amount under 28 grams, a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine. The second charge, for "manufacture or delivery of substance" is a first degree felony which carries a sentence of between five and 99 years in prison.

Those with information leading to the arrest of Dave Abbruzzese could earn up to $1,000 cash reward by contacting the Denton County Crime Stoppers web site, which is operated by the Denton County Sheriff's Office.

Abbruzzese joined PEARL JAM prior to the release of the band's 1991 debut album, "Ten". He also played on PEARL JAM's 1993 follow-up "Vs." and as the 1994 disc "Vitalogy", but exited the group prior to the latter album's release. Guitarist Stone Gossard later said: "On a superficial level, it was a political struggle. For whatever reason, his ability to communicate with Ed [Vedder, vocals] and Jeff [Ament, bass] was very stifled. I certainly don't think it was all Dave Abrruzzese's fault that it was stifled."

In the "Everybody Loves Our Town: A History Of Grunge" book, Abbruzzese is quoted as saying about his exit from PEARL JAM: "I got home and Mike [McCready, guitar] called and Jeff called. I think it was difficult for everybody in the band, except for the one person I never spoke with after that, which was Eddie. The only time I ever had two words with Eddie since I got fired was two or three years later. I was sitting with Alain Johannes from ELEVEN on the curb after a Chris Cornell show in Seattle, and Eddie came up to us. He said, 'Dave Abbruzzese,' and kinda put his arms out in greeting, because he couldn't hide from me. And I stood up and realized how much shorter he was than I remembered. I think it was a one-armed hug. He started rambling and tried to join in our conversation, and he ended up toddling off. There was a little part of me that would've loved to clobber him and another part of me that felt like I already had, just by the fact that I could still sleep at night and I was still proud of everything that we accomplished."