Country singer convicted of drug possession

No prison sentence for Darius Rucker.

Rucker pleaded no contest last week to one count of simple possession of a controlled substance, a charge stemming from his arrest in Williamson County, Tennessee, earlier this year.

Rucker previously faced two charges of petty possession and driving with an expired license, but those charges were dropped, according to WSMV-TV.

But by pleading no contest, Rucker waived his right to a trial and accepted a sentence of 11 months and 29 days probation. If he completes the required probation period, the charges will be dropped.

This all stems from an incident in February 2023 when the country singer was stopped for a traffic violation. The officer smelled marijuana coming from the car and Rucker admitted to smoking weed in the vehicle, although not that night.

When the officer searched the vehicle, he found 14 purple pills, a THC pen, and a marijuana blunt. Rucker claimed his then-girlfriend gave him the pills and he didn't know what they were. Rucker was not arrested and the officer eventually let the country singer go.

It wasn't until a year later that Rucker told People magazine that he received a call from a friend at the police station.

“A year later, I got a call from a buddy who said, 'I think I just saw a warrant for your arrest,'” he told the publication in May.

Rucker then turned himself in and someone paid the $10,500 bail to get him released. The country singer said the delay made him suspect he had either angered someone at the police station or that they were trying to make an example of him.

The arrest came around the time when other major country stars such as Chris Young and Morgan Wallen were also running into trouble with the police.

Following the September 10 court hearing, Rucker's attorneys Mark Puryear and Richard Gusler issued the following statement:

“On behalf of Darius, we would like to thank the Honorable Judge Tom Taylor and the District Attorney's Office for the time and care they took in reviewing the details of this case and reaching its final disposition. Additionally, we would like to thank 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 throughout the proceedings. Darius looks forward to completing this probationary period and putting this all behind him.”