Hot News : Judge Jails Man Who Offered Winehouse Drugs?

Hot News : Judge Jails Man Who Offered Winehouse Drugs

A judge on Friday jailed a man who sold a newspaper footage that appeared to show Amy Winehouse taking drugs.

Johnny Blagrove and his girlfriend Cara Burton admitted offering to supply drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, to the singer and other celebrities.

Judge Tudor Owen ordered Blagrove, 34, jailed for two years. Burton, 22, received two years' community service.

Amy Jade Winehouse (born 14 September 1983) is an English singer-songwriter, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including soul, jazz, rock & roll and R&B. Winehouse is best known for her soulful, powerful contralto vocals.

Winehouse's 2003 debut album Frank did well, both commercially and critically, in her native Britain. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album Back to Black led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British singer to win five Grammys, including three of the "Big Four": Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She has won the Ivor Novello Award three times, one in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for "Stronger Than Me", one in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for "Rehab", and one in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for "Love Is a Losing Game", among other prestigious distinctions.

Prosecutors say the pair covertly filmed Winehouse at a party and sold the footage to The Sun newspaper for 50,000 pounds ($75,000). In January the paper published the images, which appeared to show the singer smoking crack cocaine and snorting a substance from a card.

Detectives decided there was not enough evidence to charge Winehouse because it could not be proved what the substances were. But they charged the couple with offering to supply drugs.

Police who raided Blagrove and Burton's home found a list of celebrities they planned to film taking drugs, including Winehouse. The judge said there was no evidence they actually sold the singer drugs — a fact that saved them from longer sentences.

"Notwithstanding what is clearly visible in the video, there is no evidence of drugs being supplied or even used," he said.