Eagles frontman Don Henley took the stand on Monday, February 26, to testify in the trial over stolen handwritten notes and lyrics to the band’s classic album Hotel California.
Glen Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinki are accused of trying to sell the handwritten notes, despite knowing they were stolen. Ed Sanders, an author who’d been hired to write an Eagles biography, originally stole them in the late 1970s.
According to Rolling Stone, during his testimony, Henley said he didn’t remember sending Sanders the lyric pads to use for the biography. He then added, “You know what? It does not matter if I had driven them across the country in a U-Haul truck and dumped them at his front door. He had no right to keep or sell them.”
Henley also testified about an arrest in 1980, which he called a “poor decision.” His lawyer brought up the incident, which appeared to be a preemptive move after the defense had indicated that they planned to bring it up.
Henley was arrested after a woman he had hired through a madam had a seizure in his home, and cops found drugs at his place. He pled no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Henley said he thought she was 20 or 21 but later found out she was 16 or 17. He wound up being sentenced to two year’s probation and paid a fine of $2,500.
“I made a poor decision, which I regret to this day,” he said. “I have had to live with it for 44 years. I am living with it today in this courtroom. Poor decision.”
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