On February 27, 1977, the RCMP raided Keith's rooms at the Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto. Both Keith and Anita are arrested for possession of heroin for re-sale. It supposedly took the Mounties two hours to find Keith's room because he was registered under a false name and the band had a number of "floater" suites booked. Keith was later released on $1,000 bail. Anita was released without bail.
Keith has often wondered out loud how the RCMP got to him. If it really took them two hours to find Keith, this is a good question. Where was everybody else? Where were the security people hired by the Stones? Where were the other band members and assorted hangers-on? Someone must have seen the RCMP (they're kind of hard to miss). Shouldn't someone have been able to warn Keith?
June 27, 1977, Keith tells the court that he is undergoing treatment for drug addiction at the Stevens Clinic in New York. Judge Gordon Tinker demands evidence of Keith's progress, saying that he will treat Keith like everyone else.
On June 15, 1978, William Steward, the officer who arrested Keith in Toronto, is killed in a car accident.
On October 23, 1978 Keith makes his first appearance in court in front of Judge Lloyd Graburn. Keith's previous drug record is made inadmissible as a result of behind-the-scenes plea bargaining. Keith is now only charged with possession. Keith pleads guilty.
Doctors testify that Keith and Anita were in a "desperate condition from opium abuse" when they were in Toronto. Prince Rupert Lowenstein, Keith's financial advisor, provides documents showing that Keith's casual spending for 1977 was $350,000 most of which was spent on drugs. Testimony is also given by the clinic where Keith kicked his habit.
Keith's lawyer, Austin Cooper, says: "He should not be dealt with as a special person, but I ask your Honour to understand him as a creative, tortured person, as a major contributor
