The country star will receive probation
Darius Rucker has been sentenced to probation for 2023 drug charges in Williams County, Tennessee. The country star and Hootie & The Blowfish frontman appeared in court last week where he pleaded no contest to his charge of simple possession of a controlled substance. WSMV-TV reports Rucker’s other charges of simple possession and one count of violating Tennessee’s vehicle registration law were dismissed.
The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office charged the country star with two counts of simple possession/casual exchange and violation of registration after a February 19, 2023 traffic stop. The arrest affidavit says a deputy pulled Rucker over on Murfreesboro Road near Breckenridge after suspecting his plates had expired when he was spotted driving his GMC pickup with the previous version of the current Tennessee license plates. The tag displayed on his vehicle expired on July 31, 2022, seven months before the incident.
The deputy states he also smelled a “strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle” after approaching Rucker who admitted the last time he had smoked weed in the vehicle was “probably yesterday.”
Upon conducting a vehicle search, authorities found 14 unstamped purple pills in a jar and a black THC pen. A small marijuana blunt was found in Rucker’s pocket as well. Analysis of the pills by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) confirmed they were Psilocyn, a scheduled I controlled substance.
“On behalf of Darius, we want to thank the Honorable Judge Tom Taylor, and the District Attorney’s office for the time and care taken in considering the details of this case and its final disposition,” Rucker’s attorneys Mark Puryear and Richard Gusler stated after the hearing. “In addition, we want to thank and commend the members of the Franklin Police Department and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department for the respectful and professional manner in which they treated Darius during the process. Darius looks forward to working through this probationary period and putting this all behind him.”
With the no-contest plea, Rucker waived the right to a trial and was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days of probation. Once Rucker’s probation period expires, his record will be expunged of all charges.
