D.A.: Love Hurts

Wed., Jun. 9, 2004 10:00 AM PDT by Lia Haberman

Courtney Love is proving to be anything but America's sweetheart.

Felony assault with a deadly weapon is the charge of the week for the erratic rocker, who allegedly attacked a female singer in April with a bottle and a metal flashlight, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office confirmed Wednesday.

The alleged smackdown took place Apr. 25 at the home of Love's former manager and onetime boyfriend, Jim Barber--the same place where she had her infamous meltdown last October.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Courtney Love Cobain, accusing her of assaulting singer-guitarist Kristin King with a deadly weapon "likely to produce great bodily injury," per court documents published on The Smoking Gun.

In addition, the warrant notes that the former Hole frontwoman was out on bail at the time of the April offense, not a smooth move in the eye's of the law.

According to a Smoking Gun source, King was an unintended victim. Love was actually in the midst of throttling Barber when King, who doesn't know the mercurial musician and was sleeping on living-room couch, was inadvertently drawn into the melee and whacked with a bottle of booze.

Recommended bail on the latest charge is $55,000. But first, Love has to turn herself in. At press time, she wasn't in custody.

A call to her attorney Wednesday morning was not returned.

Love's volatile behavior has racked up plenty of billable hours for her lawyers, who are representing her in a multitude of cases.

Last month, she pleaded innocent to two misdemeanor charges of assault and reckless endangerment stemming from a New York nightclub incident when she tossed a microphone stand into the crowd, dinging one man on the head.

Proceedings in that case were adjourned until June 28.

Love, however, pleaded guilty to being under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of her arrest last Oct. 2, when she was busted trying to break into Barber's Los Angeles abode through a smashed window.

Prosecutors have confirmed she tested positive for cocaine at the time of her arrest. The people are expected to push for Love to enter mandatory rehab when she's sentenced July 16.

A second misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct is expected to be dropped at the time of Love's sentencing.

The singer-actress is also hoping to be let off the hook on two felony counts of illegal drug possession from that same night, when she allegedly overdosed on painkillers in front of her 11-year-old daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

She pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due in Beverly Hills Superior Court on July 15 for a pretrial hearing. If convicted, she could face up to three years and eight months behind bars.

As if her court docket wasn't busy enough, Love is also being sued by her New York condo board for failing to pay any of her bills since the October arrest.

No word yet about how the arrest warrant, multiple court dates and impending rehab session could change Love's summer plans. She was scheduled to kick off a tour next week to boost sagging sales of her first solo effort America's Sweetheart, but fans probably shouldn't hold their breath.