WASHINGTON — Country singer Darius Rucker is opening up for the first time about his Tennessee arrest.
The Grammy-winning singer, who was arrested in early February on minor drug charges, told PEOPLE that he learned about his arrest warrant nearly a year after being pulled over by police.
"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,'" Rucker told the outlet. "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.”
“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,’” Rucker told PEOPLE. “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.”
The Hootie & the Blowfish frontman is currently promoting his new memoir "Life's Too Short." He was arrested in Williamson County for simple possession and casual exchange of a controlled substance, and a vehicle registration violation, according to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. The "Wagon Wheel" singer was released from custody on a $10,500 bond.
In a separate interview with TODAY, the 58-year-old shared details about his initial 2023 traffic stop.
"It's funny because I go to a friend's house and they were moving, asked me to take some stuff and I did," Rucker said. "I got pulled and got stopped but the crazy thing was they let me go. It was a year later that I get a phone call that said there was a warrant for my arrest."
"I went down, we handled it, my lawyers are taking care of it. It is what it is," he continued.
Rucker also confirmed that the misdemeanor charges are still pending.
