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Checkout this mug shot photo of legendary rock and rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix, after being arrested at Toronto International Airport on May 3, 1969 at 9:30 a.m. after customs found small amounts heroin and hashish in his luggage.

After being released on a $10,000 cash bail the same day, and required to appear in court on May 5th.

Hendrix claimed the drugs were slipped into his bag, without his knowledge. He was acquitted of the charges.  Others say his manage, Chandler, planted them on him in order to keep Jimi more dependent on him.  There are even others who think it was a US government plant.  Hendrix appeared on many of the witch hunt lists of suspected communists and anarchists.

The arrest took place only four hours before the Experience were to play concert at Maple Leaf Gardens.  The made it.

In his trial defense, Hendrix claimed that the drugs were slipped into his bag by a fan without his knowledge. He was acquitted.


05-05-69: Toronto Court House, Toronto
Jimi appears in court for three minutes. The preliminary hearing is set for June 19.

06-19-69: Toronto Court House, Canada
Jimi attends a preliminary hearing. Trial is set for Dec. 8th.

12-08-69: Toronto Court House, Trial Day 1

12-09-69: Toronto Court House, Trial Day 2

12-10-69: Toronto Court House, Trial Day 3
The jury deliberated for eight hours, returning a verdict of not guilty and Jimi is cleared of all charges against him.

Several of Jimi’s biographers say that the six months that he was a defend weighed heavily on him.  He was convinced that he was going to be imprisoned.

This is not the only time that Hendrix was arrested.  January 1968 The Experience was in Sweden for a short tour, and after the first show Hendrix started drinking heavily and went berserk and smashed up his hotel room in a rage, injuring his hand and culminating in his arrest.  Jimi claims his drink being spiked.  A couple of days later in Denmark, things went even sourer, his famous hat was stolen.  Upon return to Sweden, Jimi paid a heavy fine for the destruction of the hotel room.

This article is an installment in the Jimi Hendrix Series on 60s Folks:

• Jimi Hendrix Fashion
• Jimi Hendrix Toronto Trial
• Jimi’s Death
• Jimi Hendrix, Eric Burdon and the Animals Connection
• Jimi and Bob Dylan: A Cosmic Friendship
• Jimi and the Chitlin Circuit
• Buster Hendrix: Jimi’s Childhood
• Jimi Hendrix: The Man in the Music

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