Chumlee Arrest Update: Court Date Approaches As Rick Harrison Talks Shop

Chumlee of Pawn Stars fame will be heading to court on May 23, where he will face 20 felony charges. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the reality star was subjected to a home search when police obtained a warrant after a sexual abuse claim was made against him.

Details about that claim have not been made available, and Chumlee has not been charged in that particular case. However, police found copious amounts of drugs and several weapons inside Chumlee’s home, and they arrested him. He spent one night in jail before being released on $62,000 bail. Reports indicate that the sexual abuse case is still open and that the woman who made the claim was (or is) an employee at Rick Harrison’s pawn shop in Las Vegas (where Pawn Stars is filmed).

Chumlee, whose real name is Austin Lee Russell, has not spoken out about is arrest or the charges that he is facing. He has basically gone silent on social media and hasn’t released any kind of statement, simply allowing his lawyers to handle his legal issues.

Meanwhile, the History Channel (responsible for the show Pawn Stars) has not released a statement about the fate of the show. Sources have said that network execs are waiting for Chumlee’s hearing before they make any permanent moves.

Pawn Stars head honcho Rick Harrison has spoken out about his employee, and has said that he will help Chumlee anyway that he can. He has also taken to his Twitter account to talk about his employees being at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop and hanging out with fans, but has not made mention of Chumlee, making many fans wonder if he’s still working there.

Guests visiting us this morning were in for a treat when Rick and The Old Man came out to say Hi!

— Rick Harrison (@GoldSilverPawn) March 29, 2016

Corey surprised guests the other day when he came into the shop. Good times!

— Rick Harrison (@GoldSilverPawn) April 13, 2016

Chumlee’s name hasn’t been mentioned by Harrison in several weeks, and fans who have visited the pawn shop in Las Vegas have not mentioned him being there via social media or otherwise. This could mean that Chumlee is laying low while he gets his ducks in order — but it could also mean that he hasn’t been working as an appraiser for Harrison since his arrest.

Chumlee likely faces time behind bars if he is convicted. Details, however, have not been made available and it is unclear what exactly will become of Chumlee after he goes to court.

An earlier Inquisitr report looked a bit deeper into the possibilities for the weapons charges, which were a bit unclear given the fact that there isn’t a requirement to register guns in Clark County, Nevada.

“There are several reasons why a person would be prohibited from owning a gun, but only a couple could apply to Chumlee. Either he has previously been convicted of a felony or he is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any controlled substance as described by the Nevada criminal code. Given that information, and lack thereof when it comes to prior convictions or substance abuse issues, it might mean that the methamphetamine and other drugs found in Chumlee’s home could have been the factor that disqualified him from gun ownership.”

Are you a Chumlee fan? Do you think that The History Channel will cancel Pawn Stars? Should they?

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]