Country music star and Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker has been sentenced following a drug-related incident that occurred in 2023. The 58-year-old singer appeared in a Williamson County, Tennessee courtroom on Sept. 10, where he entered a no-contest plea to a charge of simple possession of a controlled substance.
The legal proceedings stem from a traffic stop in Franklin, Tennessee, on Feb. 19, 2023. According to the arrest affidavit, via WSMV, a Franklin Police Department officer pulled Rucker over for a traffic violation on Murfreesboro Road. The officer detected the odor of marijuana emanating from Rucker’s GMC pickup truck. When questioned, Rucker admitted to having “smoked weed in the vehicle,” but not on that particular night.
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A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded 14 unstamped, grayish, and purple pills, a THC pen labeled “88.5% THC,” and a blunt. Rucker claimed the items belonged to his girlfriend and professed ignorance about the nature of the pills. However, tests revealed the pills contained psilocybin, a Schedule I controlled substance known for its psychedelic properties.
Despite the discovery, Rucker was initially released without charges. However, a warrant for his arrest was issued in December 2023. The singer, who had never previously faced legal troubles, expressed his shock to People magazine in May. “Fifty-seven years, never seen inside of a police car or jail, and I get busted for that,” Rucker stated, describing the experience as “sucks.” He also mentioned that at the time of the traffic stop, he had “a little bit of pot, and I think a little bit of some mushrooms or something in the car.”
Rucker eventually turned himself in on Feb. 1, 2024, nearly a year after the initial traffic stop. He was taken into custody and released on a $10,500 bond, facing two counts of simple possession/casual exchange of a controlled substance and one count of violation of Tennessee’s vehicle registration law.
In the Sept. 10 court appearance, Rucker pleaded no contest to one count of simple possession of a controlled substance, according to WSMV. As part of the plea agreement, he waived his right to a trial and accepted a sentence of 11 months and 29 days of probation. The court dismissed the other charges, including one count of simple possession and the vehicle registration violation.
Judge M.T. Taylor noted during the proceedings that the district attorney had recommended dismissing one count of simple possession and the expired registration charge due to Rucker’s “good character.”
Rucker’s legal team, Mark Puryear and Richard Gusler, issued a statement following the court decision, per the outlet: “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.
“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.”
The silver lining for Rucker is that upon successful completion of his probation, his record will be expunged, effectively erasing this incident from his legal history. The “Wagon Wheel” singer is currently on tour with Hootie & the Blowfish, having managed both his legal and professional obligations.
