Alright, who’s the asshole who has a problem with Hootie?
Darius Rucker seems like generally one of the more likeable guys in country music. Just a chill, laid-back dude who admits that he sometimes hooks up with fans…what’s not to love?
That’s why it was a little surprising back in February when the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish was arrested for drug possession in Williamson County, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville.
Apparently it all started back in February 2023 when Darius was pulled over for an expired registration by police who found some weed and mushrooms in his car.
But he wasn’t arrested at the time and the officer let him go on his way.
It wasn’t until a year later that Darius tells People that he got a call from a friend at the police station:
“It was so awesome. I mean, I looked back at that and I was like, ‘I got stopped by a police officer and I had a little bit of pot, and I think a little bit of some mushrooms or something in the car, and he let me go.’
And a year later I got a phone call from a buddy that said, ‘I think I just saw an arrest warrant for you.’ It shocked me.”
Rucker admits that he thought nothing else of it at the time, until hearing that there was a warrant out for his arrest. And the delay in taking him to custody made him think that he’d done something to upset somebody in the police department – or, they just wanted to make an example out of a big name:
“My friends who were in the police department were like, ‘Have you pissed somebody off up here? Because this is crazy that they’re doing this a year later.
But I think somebody wanted to make an example out of me, and they did. And I’m handling it with my lawyers, and paying the price, and we’ll move on with our lives.”
Regardless of the reason, Rucker turned himself in on the warrant earlier this year and was charged with two counts of simple possession/casual exchange of a controlled substance, and to add insult to injury, he was also charged for the expired registration (which just seems petty on the officer’s part).
The drug charges are Class A misdemeanors in Tennessee, with a maximum penalty of up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, though it’s unlikely that Darius will do much (if any) time behind bars as a first time offender:
“It sucks. Fifty-seven years, never seen inside of a police car or jail, and I get busted for that.”
Of course recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states, but unfortunately for Darius, Tennessee isn’t one of them. And honestly, if he had been caught in Nashville, this seems like a case that the police would have just let go (and not just because he’s a celebrity) because they have bigger issues to deal with.
But unfortunately for Darius, seems like he caught a cop (well technically a cop caught him) on a bad day – so he’s going to have to pay the price.
