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# Radio host accepts a deal KCRW dee jay Chris Douridas escapes jail time
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/radio-host-accepts-a-deal-kcrw-dee-jay-chris-douridas-escapes-jail-time/
- Published: 2006-08-16T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:12:04.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Crime, Main St, #archive-import

*Drug testing part of the deal*

LAX COURTHOUSE — KCRW radio host Chris Douridas was court-ordered on Tuesday to undergo drug rehabilitation after pleading no contest to a cocaine possession charge.

Douridas, 43, was arrested outside of the Circle Bar on Main Street shortly after midnight on Jan. 6 on suspicion of drugging and kidnap-ping a teenage girl. Witnesses claimed they saw him put an unknown substance into the girl’s drink and once she fell unconscious, he and a friend carried her to a car parked outside of the bar.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office investigated the case for about five months before filing the drug charge against Douridas in June. Prosecutors said they found insufficient evidence to file any additional charges. Douridas in July pleaded not guilty to the cocaine charge.

Douridas, who changed his plea to no contest on Tuesday, also was sentenced to three years felony probation and will be required to submit regular DNA samples to show the court that he has remained drug free, said DA spokesperson Sandi Gibbons. The charge will be dismissed once Douridas complies with the sentencing mandates. The plea agreement is part of Proposition 36, which was passed in California in 2000\. The initiative allows most people convicted of first-and second-time nonviolent, simple drug possessions to receive drug treatment instead of incarceration.

Douridas will undergo an assessment which will determine whether he will have inpatient or outpatient treatment, said his lawyer, Christopher Chaney.

“My guess is with his level of usage he’ll get outpatient and that will get him moving forward,” Chaney said. “He is pleased that we’ve gotten through this.”

But it hasn’t been without tremendous pain, Chaney added. The death of Douridas’ 14-year-old daughter Marieke, who suffered a grand mal seizure and died April 30, has taken a toll on him, Chaney said.

“It’s difficult to be happy about this when it’s overshadowed by his daughter’s death,” Chaney said.“It’s been a tough year for him.”

Douridas’ employer, KCRW, an affiliate of National Public Radio which airs its broadcast from the Santa Monica College campus on Pico Boulevard, has stood behind their dee jay since the ordeal began.

He maintained his innocence from the beginning, saying in a public statement that he was confident he would be vindicated.

But Circle Bar patron Juan Hernandez, who stood just a few feet away from Douridas and David Charles Keffer of Malibu at the club’s bar, said he watched the men allegedly put an unknown substance into a 14-year-old girl’s drink when she went outside to take a phone call. Within 10 minutes, the girl, who entered the club using her older cousin’s identification, fell ill.

When the teenager became disoriented, Douridas and Keffer allegedly carried her outside and into a vehicle parked outside of the Main Street bar, Hernandez said.

As Hernandez watched the events unfold, he immediately ran to the doorman and reported the alleged drugging. The doorman then informed Circle Bar co-owner Will Karges of the situation. Karges told the doorman to call police while he approached Douridas and Keffer, who had allegedly put the unconscious girl into a car parked just a few feet away from the bar’s front door.

Karges said he was successful in convincing the men to remove the girl from the car. She was placed on the sidewalk, lying face down, convulsing and unconscious. Police and paramedics arrived shortly after, attempting to revive the girl at the scene to no avail. She was then taken to a local hospital, where she eventually recovered. The victim’s identity is withheld because she is a minor.

Karges said the Santa Monica Police Department’s forensic unit showed up and cordoned off a section of the area with police tape and began surveying the crime scene. A bartender had saved the supposed tainted drink that was left on the bar and a capsule was found on the floor.

But prosecutors in the end felt there was-n’t enough evidence to convince a jury of the allegations.

Douridas is host of KCRW-FM’s “New Ground,”which airs each Saturday and focuses on new musicians. He also has helped compile soundtracks for such films as “Shrek 2,” Grosse Pointe Blank,”“Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me and “As Good As It Gets.” Douridas was nominated for a Grammy for his work on the “American Beauty”soundtrack.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 16, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081606.pdf?ref=smdp.com)