Village People's Cop Skips Out

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Victor Willis, the original policeman in '70s disco band the Village People, skipped a court hearing where he was due to be sentenced on drug and gun charges and now faces more than three years in prison, prosecutors said.

Willis, 54, had been scheduled to surrender Tuesday after four months on the run but he failed to show up for the hearing in San Mateo County Superior Court, prosecutors said. It was his second no-show.

He was facing a maximum of 16 months in state prison after pleading no contest to charges he had cocaine and a loaded handgun when he was arrested in Daly City in July. Prosecutors said he was on probation for another cocaine conviction at the time.

Willis was freed in lieu of $100,000 bail, but failed to show up for his sentencing hearing in October. His case was featured on the television crime show "America's Most Wanted" in December. The segment is scheduled to re-air in February.

The songwriter and performer left the Village People in the late 1970s. His last known address was a trailer park in Daly City.

(newsday)