UPDATED: Darius Rucker Arrested on Possession Charges

This story has been updated.
Hootie & the Blowfish frontman and current country music star Darius Rucker turned himself into authorities on Thursday, February 1st in Williamson County, Tennessee, south and west of Nashville. According to the police report, the arrest was for two counts of simple possession/casual exchange and one count of a violation of Tennessee’s vehicle registration law that occurred back in February of 2023.
The 57-year-old turned himself in at around 12:15 pm Central time and booked into the Williamson County Jail. By 1:51 pm, Rucker was released from custody on a $10,5000 bond. All the charges against Rucker are misdemeanors.
UPDATE (2/2/24 2:00 PM CST): According to newly obtained information, Darius Rucker’s arrest on Thursday, February 1st was not due to a current traffic stop or interaction. Rucker turned himself into authorities after a warrant had been issued for his arrest stemming from a traffic stop on February 19th, 2023—nearly a year ago.
At the time, Rucker was pulled over after police noticed that Rucker’s vehicle registration was expired. During the stop, police noticed the smell of marijuana, and asked Rucker if he was smoking. Rucker replied “no,” but that he’d smoked the previous day.
Citing probable cause, the officers then began to search Rucker and his vehicle. Before the search began, Rucker turned over a small blunt that was in his pocket. A search of the vehicle then turned up a THC pen and 14 unmarked pills. The pills turned out to be Psilocin, which is a Schedule I controlled substance that contains psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms.
According to police, Rucker then was then released from the scene without being arrested, pending investigation of the unmarked pills. An arrest warrant was issued for Rucker in December, resulting in Rucker turning himself in on February 1st.
Darius Rucker’s attorney told Country Now, “Darius Rucker is fully cooperating with authorities related to misdemeanor charges.”
Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Darius Rucker became a national personality for fronting the rock band Hootie and the Blowfish. In 2008, he signed to Capitol Records Nashville and commenced a country music career, achieving a #1 hit with his first single “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It.”
Later in 2008, Rucker made his Grand Ole Opry debut, and became a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012. He was scheduled to perform on the Opry Friday evening (2-2), but the appearance has since been canceled. Rucker also won the Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year Award in 2009, and has since charted six #1 singles, and four #1 albums.
Darius Rucker is not the only mainstream country artist to be arrested recently. Chris Young was arrested on January and charged for assaulting an officer. The charges were eventually dropped after video evidence emerged disputing the characterizations of the officers, underscoring the importance of waiting until all the facts come out before passing judgement upon arrests.
More information when it becomes available.
February 1, 2024 @ 5:43 pm
Ohh Hootie got caught with a hogleg!!!!
February 1, 2024 @ 6:20 pm
Outlaw album dropping next month…
February 1, 2024 @ 6:34 pm
It already dropped.
Its called “Carolyn’s Boy”
February 1, 2024 @ 6:37 pm
It’s amazing people are still being busted for pot, if that’s the case here (I sure hope it is). A complete waste of taxpayer money.
February 1, 2024 @ 8:09 pm
Google casual exchange. It sounds like he had prescription pills that weren’t his
February 2, 2024 @ 11:29 am
All victimless crimes are a waste of taxpayer money.
February 1, 2024 @ 6:38 pm
He got tired of people critiquing his music as safe, marketable to a fault, pedestrian and cheesy……………so he finally broke down and sad, “That’s it: I’m gonna prove ’em I can be hardcore and roughneck too!”
……………the drug in question was probably just weed! 😉
February 1, 2024 @ 7:16 pm
Possession?!?….when it’s legal in Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan. Sheesh
February 2, 2024 @ 6:19 am
With Indiana right in the middle of that group, and no intention of even legalizing medical marijuana (until MAYBE the feds decriminalize first), and our LEOs intent on enforcing it. SO nice to live in a stone age state, with millions of dollars of weed tax money flowing to neighboring states. Hell, even KY legalized medical weed! I guess we’ll just have to sit back and enjoy funding our gov’t with our exorbitant vehicle excise taxes.
February 4, 2024 @ 9:26 am
Not to mention Pennsyltucky!
February 4, 2024 @ 9:59 am
And every state in New England except the one I can see right across the Connecticut River — New Hampshire. It’s where I do most of my shopping (except for edibles) and dining, so, knowing how Murphy’s Law works, I always make my gummy purchases on a separate local trip, because NH cops will check for them if you’re caught running a stop sign or speeding.
As for Darius, I always assumed he used pot (and maybe shrooms) because there’s more than one song of his that makes reference to getting high. “A little buzzed and a little toasted,” indeed. Much ado about nothing, IMO.
February 1, 2024 @ 7:20 pm
Wow, true or not why does is it coming down to know everything? Drugs or something else? We are all human and only have one person to answer to on our judgment day!! We should not judge anyone as it’s not our place
February 1, 2024 @ 7:33 pm
It’s dumb that people are still getting busted for pot. My first reaction was that surely Hootie has the means to find a doctor who will prescribe it for him, but I checked and even medical isn’t legal yet in Tennessee. That being said, he probably could have avoided the entire interaction by simply renewing his tags.
February 1, 2024 @ 7:54 pm
Laws are still laws tho
February 1, 2024 @ 8:38 pm
Jeeves, my fainting couch
February 2, 2024 @ 3:13 am
Trig’s reporting be like:
Darius arrested for drug possessions.
You may know him as a famous country artist too. He has six #1s hits & four #1 albums. Plus 4 CMT beltbuckle awards & 3 People Choice award nominations. He served as a mentor during NBC’s The Voice season 7 & he loves his children.
—–
Like here’s some bad press but also some good press about his career
????
February 2, 2024 @ 7:41 am
The reason I included the autobographical info on Darius Rucker is because to the average American, he’s the Hootie and the Blowfish guy, and they may not even be aware that he’s had a country career. A couple of years ago there was a film about how the legacy of Black artists had been removed from country history, and they didn’t as much mention Rucker.
February 2, 2024 @ 4:01 am
…the mug shot is quickly becoming the new star poster. another one or two and you’re probably considered an outsider in nashville without one.
February 2, 2024 @ 4:05 am
“the mug shot is quickly becoming the new star poster”
Next album cover: Done!
February 2, 2024 @ 8:02 am
Dang really sucks but at least he’s out.
February 2, 2024 @ 11:28 am
He may be out of the forrest. But he aint out of the woods just yet
February 2, 2024 @ 1:15 pm
True
February 2, 2024 @ 11:39 am
Never would have considered the Darius Rucker the Tiger Woods of country music. But then I saw his mugshot and now I’m not convinced he isn’t just Tiger Woods, period.
February 2, 2024 @ 1:12 pm
According to TMZ, the traffic stop leading to this arrest occurred in February, 2023, and they released him without charges pending lab results of some pills they found in his possession. Warrant was issued in December. That crime lab in Tennessee sure moves slow.
February 2, 2024 @ 8:33 pm
Fifty-seven and getting charged with (simple) possession of weed and a THC pen and some pills.Pardner’s getting a late start.Well,hopefully Darius can resolve this snafu and get back into the studio and on tour.
February 3, 2024 @ 2:26 pm
A big bag of nothing. So sillly weed and a pill form of shrooms. Why is any of this illegal? Such a waste of taxpayer money.