Last Wednesday (March 24), Steven William Johnson, the drummer of US award-winning Southern-rock band Alabama Shakes, was arrested for child abuse.
A grand jury indicted Johnson on charges of “wilful torture, abuse and cruelly beating or otherwise wilfully maltreating a child under the age of 18”.
News outlets are reporting he has been taken into custody at Alabama’s Limestone County Jail, and has had his bond set at £15,600 ($21,500), with an arraignment date scheduled for April 7.
In March of last year, Johnson pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protection order filed by his ex-wife in Limestone County, after she accused him of threatening behaviour, harassment, stalking and choking her in 2018. He received a year in jail with 24 months on probation.
Alabama Shakes have been on hiatus since 2018, following vocalist Brittany Howard’s decision to pursue a solo career.
In 2019, Howard told Pitchfork that writing with the group was no longer an option, stating: "Nothing was happening. It was really torturous, because we’re usually really good at that."
The group have not commented on Johnson's arrest.
