Lange pleaded guilty to possession of 81 decks of heroin in December after missing a court date. Police arrested him in May of 2017 after stopping him on the Garden State Parkway. Officers said Lange had heroin in his lap.
“Crashing” star Artie Lange said his latest court appearance over a May 12 drug possession arrest “went great.”
The 50-year-old comedian was originally supposed to be sentenced in February, but that date was pushed back when Lange was hospitalized for issues related to diabetes.
“Just out of court. It went great. It was a pre-sentence interview. I saw the judge who is very fair,” Lange tweeted after leaving Superior Court in Newark on Friday morning. “She said I looked better! The interview went well. So I’m praying for probation but I will respectfully do what they tell me to do!”
Just out of court. It went great. It was a pre sentence interview. I saw the judge who is very fair. She said I looked better! The interview went well. So I’m praying for probation but I will respectfully do what they tell me to do! Right now the sentence Day is May 18
— Artie Lange (@artiequitter) March 23, 2018
In December, Lange pleaded guilty to possession of 81 decks of heroin after State Police arrested him on the Garden State Parkway. Officers said Lange had been driving erratically in a parking lot at a McDonald’s in Bloomfield. Police said that when they stopped Lange, they found the comedian with a straw and a bag of heroin in his lap.
Lange had been arrested a total of three times in 2017. In March of that year, he was arrested outside his Hoboken home after police said they found him with heroin and cocaine. He was also arrested in December after he missed a court date connected to the May arrest, then spent a short time in Essex County Jail.
The comedian, who grew up in Union Township, spent about two weeks in rehab after his stint in jail, his lawyer, Frank Arleo, told NJ Advance Media. Lange, who has talked about drug use, relapse and rehab in his act as a stand-up comedian, tweeted about being “sober 32 days” in January.
Lange’s real-life struggles with drug addiction have also been a plot point on HBO’s “Crashing.” This past season, one episode in particular was dedicated to Lange’s character relapsing after vowing to stay clean.
At the time of Lange’s guilty plea, Arleo, Lange’s lawyer, said they worked out an agreement that would allow the comedian to avoid jail time.
“The deal is he’s going to get probation,” he said. “There probably will be drug treatment or testing.”
Several corrections and additions were made to this article, including the date of Lange’s arrest and the charges connected with his recent court appearance. Lange was not in Superior Court for charges related to his Hoboken arrest.
Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Find NJ.com on Facebook