Mike Starr of Alice in Chains dead at 44

SALT LAKE CITY - Police say officers have found former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr dead in a home near Salt Lake City's downtown area.

Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Shawn Josephson says officers responded to the home Tuesday afternoon. He says details about the cause or circumstances of the 44-year-old's death were not immediately available.

It wasn't immediately clear who owned the home or phoned police.

Starr was the original bassist for Alice in Chains, an iconic Seattle-based band that made its mark on the grunge scene of the early 1990s. He left the group in 1993.

Josephson says Salt Lake City police arrested Starr last month on suspicion of possession of medications without a required prescription.

Starr appeared on the third season of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" in 2009.