Rapper and singer Nelly was arrested Saturday in Tennessee on felony drug charges.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting Nelly, a.k.a Cornell Haynes, and a traveling companion were booked after state troopers found methamphetamine, guns, and drug paraphernalia in his tour bus, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The tour bus carrying Nelly and his entourage was stopped around 9:20 a.m. Saturday morning on Interstate 40 in Putman County, Tennessee. The Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled over the bus for “failing to display the proper U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and International Fuel Tax Assn. (IFTA) stickers.”
Rapper, reality TV star Nelly arrested on drug charges in Tennessee http://t.co/DPpeJW21XQ pic.twitter.com/4hyBJn5Rvw
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) April 12, 2015
A news release reports troopers smelled marijuana when they stopped Nelly’s bus and entered on probable cause. Inside the bus, they found “a plastic bag that contained five colored crystal-type rocks that tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as a small amount of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.”
“Approximately 100 small Ziploc bags that are commonly associated with the sale of narcotics and numerous handguns, including a gold-plated 50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol, a 45-caliber Tarus pistol, and a 500 magnum Smith and Wesson were found.”
There were five people traveling on the bus with Nelly at the time of the stop.
Brian Jones, 44, a convicted felon, was also arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a handgun.
Both Nelly and Brian Jones were taken to the Putnam County Jail, where they were held on separate $10,000 bail bonds. The L.A. Times reports Nelly was released at 5:15 p.m. Central Time and Jones was released at 5:53 p.m., according to Deputy Austin Ahrens of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.
Rapper Nelly arrested after drugs and guns were found on the bus he was on: http://t.co/BF9VmybNrz @Nelly_Mo pic.twitter.com/paATpI1J1h
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) April 12, 2015
According to Reuters , Nelly avoided arrest on similar charges in 2012 after authorities discovered marijuana, heroin, and a loaded gun on the rapper’s tour bus at a Border Patrol checkpoint in West Texas. Nelly was released when another member of the rapper’s entourage took responsibility for the drugs and gun and was arrested.
Nelly performed Friday at the North Carolina Azalea Festival and is scheduled to perform on April 23 at Missouri State University in Springfield.
[Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Bud Light]
