Former 3 Doors Down Member Arrested for Domestic Violence

Todd Harrell, the former bass player for the rock band 3 Doors Down, was arrested on Friday in Jackson County, Mississippi on charges of domestic violence simple assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and marijuana possession.

TMZ reports the county sheriff’s department arrived at the house after a security alarm was activated. Harrell’s wife told the officers he had been physical with her during a heated argument. The officers then acquired a search warrant after spotting guns and drugs inside the house.

Harrell was one of the founding members of the rock group alongside lead singer Brad Arnold and lead guitarist Matt Roberts. He was fired from the group in 2013 after he was charged with vehicular manslaughter for a car crash that took place in Nashville, Tennessee.

Harrell was reportedly high on alprazolam and oxycodone at the time and speeding at 101 miles per hour when he clipped a pickup truck. 47-year-old Paul Shoulders Jr. died in the ensuing crash. He was later charged with driving under the influence in 2014 in a separate incident.

He was sentenced to two years in prison and six years of probation in 2015, but was released after a year for good behavior.

Harrell took part in a speaking tour in 2017 to teach students about the dangers of impaired driving.

“I have nightmares about it,” Harrell told a crowd at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville in July 2017, according to The Tennessean. “It changed my life y’all. It took who I was and just turned me upside down. Paul died and he didn’t have to for a decision that I made.”

“I can never change what happened,” he said later in the speech. “But I can definitely try and make a message out of it. Guys, you know, a split-second decision could change your life. If you’re drinking and druggin’, there’s help for that too.”

Arnold discussed seeing Harrell go through multiple legal troubles in an interview with Loudwire in 2016.

“For us, he was more than a bandmate, he was our brother,” Arnold said. “I’ve known Todd a lot longer than we’ve been in the band together. … He was like my brother, and he still is. We’ll never turn our back on him. He’s definitely got his things to face right now.”

Arnold said the band’s song “Fell From The Moon” from the 2016 album Us and the Night was about Harrell’s legal troubles.

According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, bond has not been set yet for Harrell’s release.

Photo: Jackson County Sheriff’s Department