Poison Drummer Rocks out to Freedom

Mississippi prosecutors drop rape charge against Rikki Rockett after confirming he was not in the state where the crime took place

Rikki Rockett can go back to nonchalantly tossing his hair around.

Rape charges against the Poison drummer have been dropped after Mississippi prosecutors established that Rockett was in California when the alleged crime was committed.

The 46-year-old rocker was arrested in March at LAX upon his arrival from New Zealand and booked at Los Angeles County Jail on a felony fugitive sexual assault warrant issued in Neshoba County, Miss.

"We got a call form the DA, and he had received a phone call that said, to the effect, that they knew they had the wrong person," Rockett told TMZ.com, which caught up with the rocker on the street Saturday.

"So, what we believe is that there was an impostor that was using my name and it turns out this guy has used rock stars' names before...I guess he was claiming he was me, I'm not even sure about that. Somehow my name got in the mix."

The Neshoba County Sheriff's Office confirmed that it is investigating another suspect, apparently the so-called impostor who's accused of trying to pass himself off as Rockett, whose real name is Richard Ream.

Meanwhile, Rockett, who had maintained all along that he was not in Mississippi when the incident took place, lost no time in celebrating the good news. On Saturday in Valencia, Calif., he hosted the Rikki Rockett Is Exonerated party, benefiting Centurion Ministries, which aids people who have been wrongly convicted of crimes.

"This money and other silent contributions will go directly to help those who are innocent and do not have the resources to get decent legal help," Rockett blogged on MySpace. "Many of these people are on death row awaiting execution for a crime they did not commit...

"This party was simply a kick off to an idea. I hope to do this annually as a benefit while maintaining the spirit of the excitement of a party. after all, we are the lucky ones with the freedom. Celebrate it everyday."

Rockett and the rest of Poison are currently in Utah rehearsing for their 49-date tour, which kicks off July 3 in Salt Lake City.