Trial on Hold for Winehouse Hubby

Mon., Nov. 12, 2007 1:03 PM PST by Gina Serpe

Amy Winehouse's husband won't have to face the music just yet.

A London judge postponed the scheduled start Monday of Blake Fielder-Civil's trial for a pub brawl over the summer following the defendant's arrest last week for alleged witness tampering.

Fielder-Civil had been due in court on a charge of causing grievous bodily harm to tavern owner James King during the June incident. However, the Thames Magistrates' Court judge said the proceedings "clearly can't go ahead today."

The "Rehab" singer's 25-year-old husband was remanded into custody and, per a separate judge's ruling on Saturday, will stay locked up until a Nov. 23 court date.

That hearing, to take place at London's Snaresbrook Crown Court, will include the original count and the new count of "conspiracy to pervert the course of justice."

Fielder-Civil was one of five men arrested on the latter charge last Thursday, following a police raid on the London home he shares with Winehouse.

The Daily Mail has reported that Fielder-Civil attempted to bribe King into recanting his story and therefore nullifying the need for a trial. The newspaper says Fielder-Civil tried to give King $400,000 to withdraw his complaint and offered to fly the barkeep out of the country for the duration of the trial.

Winehouse herself faces no charges and is believed to have been completely unaware of any alleged bribery plot.

The assault case stems from a summer bustup in which Fielder-Civil and 39-year-old Michael Brown faced off with King at his London pub, Macbeth's.

According to prosecutors, just after midnight on June 20, the duo attempted to lure King outside and, when he refused, resorted to violence. Attorney Mark Williams said at today's hearing that Brown grabbed hold of King during the confrontation, causing him to fall to the ground, at which point Fielder-Civil proceeded to kick and stomp on King. It's unclear what provoked the attack.

Brown was a no-show in court on Monday, leading the judge to issue an arrest warrant.

A distraught-looking Winehouse appeared in support of her husband at a hearing Saturday, accompanied by manager-father Mitch and one other unlikely ally.

Throwing his support behind Fielder-Civil was fellow troublemaker Pete Doherty, who on several occasions has found himself in to the very same courtroom for his own litany of legal indiscretions.

During the hearing, Winehouse, sporting her signature beehive and black eyeliner, blew kisses at her husband and repeatedly mouthed "I love you" from the gallery.

Along with Fielder-Civil, another man, 25-year-old Anthony Kelly, was remanded to custody pending next week's hearing. A third man whose name has not yet been released was also formally charged with witness-tampering over the weekend. Two other alleged accomplices, aged 19 and 22, have been released on bail.

In the meantime, a new DVD featuring Winehouse in concert and behind the scenes, presciently titled I Told You I Was Trouble, is due out Tuesday.

[Update: At the Nov. 23 hearing, Fielder-Civil was denied bail and ordered held in jail until Jan. 18.]