A musician arrested on heroin-possession charges amid an investigation into Philip Seymour Hoffman's death hopes to go into treatment.
Robert Vineberg asked a US magistrate on Tuesday for the case to go to a drug court. His court filing says he's a longtime heroin addict.
New York City prosecutors haven't yet responded to the request. A judge hasn't ruled.
Vineberg, 57, has pleaded not guilty to possessing 300 packets of heroin with the intent to sell it. If he's approved for drug court and succeeds in treatment, the charges could eventually be lowered or dismissed.
Vineberg was arrested as police followed leads after Hoffman's apparent heroin overdose. Vineberg isn't charged with any role in Hoffman's Feb. 2 death.
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His lawyer has said that any heroin Vineberg allegedly possessed would have been largely for his own consumption.
Vineberg is a longtime jazz and pop studio musician who has played, under the name Robert Aaron, on albums by artists including David Bowie, Mick Jagger and the late Amy Winehouse. But his musical career has foundered in recent years.
