Cee Lo Green telephone call said to be key to Ecstasy drug case

Musician Cee Lo Green allegedly acknowledged in a telephone call that he furnished Ecstasy to a woman at a downtown restaurant, according to sources.

The 38-year-old judge on NBC’s “The Voice,” whose real name is Thomas DeCarlo Calloway, appeared before an L.A. County Superior Court judge Monday as his attorney, Blair Berk, entered a not guilty plea to a felony charge of furnishing a controlled substance to a woman.

Prosecutors alleged in statements that Green “slipped” Ecstasy to a 33-year-old woman while they were dining. But prosecutors have not explained how Ecstasy, which is usually in pill form, could be given to the alleged victim without her knowing.

Sources familar with the case say an acknowledgment by Green to another person in a telephone call about events that night is key to the prosecution.

Green could receive up to four years in prison if convicted of giving the woman the drug at the Wokcano restaurant in July 2012. But sources familiar with the case said Green would probably receive much less time if convicted because it would be his first offense.

The “Forget You” singer spent 33 minutes being booked by the county Sheriff’s Department after his court appearance Monday. A bond agent immediately appeared to post $30,000 bail to release Green.

On Monday, the singer, dressed in a black, cape-like robe and dark, metal-rimmed glasses, sat in the front row of the courtroom with his girlfriend and occasionally spoke to Berk and his other lawyer, former U.S. Atty. Thomas O’Brien.

The usually talkative Green, known for his colorful outfits, said only “Yes, your honor” during the court proceedings, in answer to whether he would surrender within seven days.

Before court, Berk said Green was pleased with the prosecutors’ decision not to file a rape charge in what Berk described as “consensual relations.”

“Cee Lo had faith that if true facts were known, the district attorney would reject those charges,” Berk said of the sexual-assault allegation. “As it relates to the one charge of furnishing or sharing Ecstasy, Mr. Green will responsibly address that matter in a court of law, but not comment on it further out of respect for the process.”

A Los Angeles Police Department investigation into the singer began shortly after the woman reported to authorities that he put the drug in her drink as they dined together. The woman told investigators she woke up to find herself naked in a bed with the singer in her room at the Luxe Hotel near Staples Center.

But after two rounds of investigations by the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, prosecutors declined to file sex-related charges against Green, citing a lack of evidence.

“We are pleased that the Los Angeles County district attorney has completed its investigation and concluded that the evidence did not support the false and unfounded claim made over a year ago,” Berk said.

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richard.winton@latimes.com