Wes Scantlin of Puddle of Mudd has been sentenced to a one-year diversion program following his 2025 arrest, allowing him to avoid jail time while addressing substance-related issues.
As reported by TMZ, the court ruling requires Scantlin to enroll in and complete a drug rehabilitation program as part of the agreement. The sentence stems from a plea deal tied to his drug possession charge, with the remaining charges dismissed. He is expected back in court on May 29 for a progress update.
The incident leading to his arrest occurred in Torrance, California, in the early hours of March 11, 2025. Police responded to an apartment in Torrance, California, around 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. After speaking with Wes and his girlfriend, officers determined that a verbal dispute had allegedly escalated into a physical altercation. The 52-year-old musician was also found in possession of a small quantity of a controlled substance.
Scantlin was taken into custody at 4:01 a.m. and booked at 5:12 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff Inmate Information Center. He faces charges of felony domestic violence and possession of a controlled substance.
The latest development adds to a long and well-documented history of legal and substance-related issues for the musician, who has faced multiple arrests over the years tied to erratic behavior and drug use.
In a separate recent appearance on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” Scantlin also revealed that he is currently working on an autobiographical book alongside his older brother, offering a deeper look into his life, career, and struggles with addiction.
Reflecting on his early exposure to substance abuse, he shared: ”My brother and his friends were five years older than me, so when I was about nine, everybody was partying and stuff, growing up and stuff like that. So I started really, really early. And so that happened and everything. And I’ve been going to AA since I was, like, 10 years old, taking my mom and dad to Alcoholics Anonymous and stuff like that. I mean, I was driving them to Alcoholics Anonymous when I was 10 years old. And so I’d go there and I hang out at the AA halls and everything, and I’d just sit there and wait for my dad and I’d go into some meetings and stuff like that. So I’ve been going to AA for — shoot, man — I’m 53 now, so, yeah, that’s, like, 43 years… My parents actually were sober for, like, 30 years. And then they hit, like, 70 and then they just started drinking again.”
He also confirmed that the book project is already in progress: ”Me and my brother are gonna be working on it… He’s doing it now, man. He gets up at four o’clock in the morning, and he just goes and starts writing. And then he’ll call me, and I’m telling him about other stories that he forgot about and all kinds of other insane situations. It’s like a combo platter of me and his life, growing up and everything. And he was around the whole time when Puddle of Mudd was [starting out]. And just my musical career and his life and our lives together growing up and stuff. Maybe we should just call it ‘Brotherhood‘.”
