Former Meat Puppet Remains In Jail After Post Office Freak-Out

A week after former Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood was involved in a violent Boxing Day freak-out, the troubled musician has been ordered to stay in police custody by an Arizona judge.

Kirkwood got himself in hot water on December 26 when he reportedly assaulted a post office security guard in Phoenix after a parking dispute with another customer. Kirkwood allegedly got into a scuffle with the guard, who was intervening in the parking argument. He punched the guard grabbed his baton and conked him on the head.

In defense, the guard grabbed his gun and shot Kirkwood in the stomach. The musician was rushed to a Phoenix hospital. Kirkwood recovered and was released on December 30. Upon his release from the hospital, he was promptly arrested and tossed in jail.

On Wednesday (December 31), Kirkwood appeared in court and was charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon at a federal facility. The judge also deemed him to be a flight risk and a danger to others and insisted that he remain in custody.

Kirkwood has long been known for troublesome behavior. The bassist has a history of drug addiction and was arrested (and jailed) for possession of drug paraphernalia in 1999 after his wife, Michelle Tardif, died of a heroin overdose. Kirkwood started The Meat Puppets with his older brother Curt in the early '80s.

The band's last studio album was 2000's Golden Lies, on which Cris Kirkwood did not appear.