Singer-guitarist Craig Nicholls of the Aussie garage rock outfit the Vines was arrested early Sunday (Oct. 14) morning on charges of domestic assault after allegedly going on a violent rampage at his parents' home in Sydney, Australia. Nicholls is accused of punching his mother twice in the head and then trying to evade the police who'd arrived on the scene. Police said they used a form of pepper spray to subdue the singer, and one officer reportedly sustained injuries during the arrest. 

"He tried to evade police and [a] violent struggle ensued," Hurstville police Inspector Robert Duncan told The Sydney Morning Herald. "A police officer suffered grazes, cuts and bruises to both elbows and knees and was treated at St. George Hospital." In addition to two counts of domestic assault, Nicholls faces charges of stalking or intimidation, resisting arrest and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He is scheduled to appear before Sutherland Local Court tomorrow.

The Vines were touted as Australian's Next Big Thing and were among the leaders of a so-called garage-rock revival of the early '00s that included the Strokes, the White Stripes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but the band's career derailed, and in 2006 Nicholls revealed that he had been diagnosed with Aspergers, a mild form of autism. In 2008, the band cancelled a high-profile tour of Australia and Japan after  issuing a statement that Nicholls' "mental condition ha[d] deteriorated extremely rapidly" and "require[d] immediate help over an extended period of time."

 

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