Phil Rudd has pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill and possession of drugs in New Zealand. The AC/DC drummer did not appear in Tauranga District Court, and instead had his lawyer enter his plea on Tuesday.

The Australian rocker, 60, has been freed on bail since he was arrested early in November after a police raid on his Tauranga home. He was also initially facing attempting to procure murder charge, but that was dropped after less than a day due to lack of evidence.

He is still facing jail, though, if he is found guilty of his current charges. Threatening to kill has a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. He is expected to return to court for the procedural hearing in February.

Meanwhile, his son, Jack Felix Witschke, has escaped two counts of assault conviction on Monday. The 23-year-old appeared before Judge Peter Rollo in the Tauranga District Court to face two charges of common assault stemming from an incident in August.

As reported by the New Zealand Herald, Witschke was at the Cornerstone Tavern with family members on August 30 when he got into an argument with another man on the dance floor. He then threw a punch when he was evicted from the premises by the security staff. The other man left with his friends through another door.

It didn’t end there, though. As was captured on the CCTV in Tauranga city, he followed the group in an “aggressive way.” He punched the first complainant in the face, as well as another male in the face several times. A woman was also pushed over when she tried to intervene. The two men held him until the police arrived.

Witschke’s attitude on being arrested gave the impression that he used his dad’s fame to get off the charge, according to police prosecutor David Pawson. However, Judge Rollo has considered Witschke’s application for a discharge without conviction, citing his remorse for his actions.

“You have done everything that could be expected of you to put this right. You have written a thoughtful letter of apology to the two young men, it’s insightful and recognises what you did was inappropriate,” the judge was quoted by the paper as saying. He also noted that a conviction would outweigh the scale of the offending.

Also read:

AC/DC Angus Young and Brian Johnson on Troubled Drummer Phil Rudd’s Future With Them, Continuing Music Without Malcolm Young

Angus Young on AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd: He Needs to Sort Himself Out