Musician Scott Weiland Did Not Get Arrested for Shoplifting in Beverly Hills

Former Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland was not arrested, the Beverly Hills Police Department confirmed tonight, contrary to a report by the celebrity news website TMZ.

Weiland posted a 48-second video on his Facebook account tonight saying he had been “touring, writing and recording my new album” in recent months, calling the TMZ report of his incarceration “a nice piece of fiction.”

The report stemmed from a suspect identifying himself as Scott Weiland being arrested July 26 for suspicion of shoplifting at a Rite Aid store in the 400 block of North Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills Police Department Lt. Renato Moreno said.

The suspect was booked for burglary and possession of methamphetamine, Moreno said.

As part of standard procedure, the suspect’s fingerprints were checked with the FBI’s national database, Moreno said.

Although the fingerprints came back with a name other than Weiland’s, this was not corrected in the department’s arrest record.

The initial report of Weiland’s arrest today by TMZ and the discovery of Weiland’s video on Facebook prompted the re-check of the arrested individual’s identity, Moreno said.

“It was an oversight by employees in not changing the arrest record to reflect this individual’s correct name,” Moreno said.

The actual name of the arrestee was Jason Michael Hurley, 44, a transient whose last known address was in North Hollywood in 2009, Moreno said.

Hurley could face an additional charge of furnishing false information to a police officer, Moreno said.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.