Drummer Tommy Lee of glam-metal act Motley Crue is scheduled to appear Thursday (Feb. 4) at a probation hearing to face charges he used alcohol, a violation of his probation for a spousal abuse conviction last year, according to the Malibu (Calif.) Municipal Court clerk.

Judge Lawrence Mira set the hearing date after learning of news reports that Lee had been drinking with his bandmates at a birthday party for bassist Nikki Sixx in Florida. If Lee is found to have used alcohol, he could be sent to prison for three years.

The drummer served nearly four months in jail last year after pleading no contest to kicking his former wife, actress Pamela Anderson Lee, as she held their son.

On Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 3) Lee's lawyer, Steve Gold, declined to comment on the hearing.

Repeated calls to District Attorney Kathy Solarzano were not returned by press time.

The past year and a half has been a tumultuous time for the Crue. Sixx and Lee faced misdemeanor assault charges in Phoenix, Ariz., stemming from an alleged assault on a security guard after a concert at the AmericaWest Arena in November 1997.

Formed in 1981, Motley Crue -- comprised of singer Vince Neil (a.k.a.Vince Neil Wharton), drummer Lee (a.k.a. Thomas Lee Bass), guitarist Mick Mars (a.k.a. Bob Deal) and bassist Sixx (a.k.a. Frank Carlton Serafino Ferranno) -- helped define the '80s glam-metal scene with such fist-pumping, lighter-flicking hits as "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Kick Start My Heart." They achieved multi-platinum sales with albums such as 1983's Shout at the Devil and 1989's Dr. Feelgood.

The foursome recently completed a two-month tour in support of their 1998 Greatest Hits LP.