Throughout his career in country music, Jamey Johnson worked alongside stars like George Strait, Merle Haggard, Trace Adkins, James Otto, and even Willie Nelson. Helping the singers bring their songs to life, Johnson eventually stepped into the recording studio and produced several hit albums. Although embracing country music, Johnson took a break from the studio for over a decade. But now, with his newest album, Midnight Gasoline, hitting shelves, Johnson finds himself in some legal trouble after being arrested for speeding and drug possession.
While about to turn 50 years old, Johnson isn’t letting his age slow him down as the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office confirmed the singer’s arrest. The Tennessee Highway Patrol released a statement reading, “We can confirm that Jamey Johnson was arrested on Sunday, Nov. 17 in Williamson County. The incident is still under investigation.”
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According to court filings, via Rolling Stone, Johnson was arrested for marijuana possession. Per TN.gov, Johnson faces up to six years in jail or a max fine of $5,000 for a Class E felony drug possession charge.
Not breaking his silence over the arrest, Johnson has discussed his ongoing battle with alcohol addiction. He told Billboard, “I barely survived. Alcohol was an incendiary way of destroying myself. Everything just went up in flames and you couldn’t put the fire out, you just had to wait for it all to come to ashes and then try to rebuild when you get done. And it seemed to me like I owed myself a better way to live than that.”
How Toby Keith Helped Jamey Johnson Get Back In The Studio
Recently, Johnson also opened up about getting back in the studio thanks to working with Toby Keith before he passed. “We were working on a song toward the end. I called him up one night and shared a few lines with him, and he added a few lines and we turned around and wrote this whole verse. We laughed a bunch, and it was one of those that I thought, ‘This is great. There’s gonna come a time I’ll get out to Oklahoma or maybe he and I will meet up somewhere at a golf tournament, but we’ll have some time sit down and finish this thing up.’”
While losing a friend, Johnson learned just how quickly life goes by. And he planned on using his remaining time wisely. “It’s what made me understand that I’m nowhere near done, and so it’s time to get busy. After he passed away, I immediately started talking about this session and started trying to get all the particulars in order. It was time for me to get in the studio again.”
As for his arrest, only time will tell exactly what happened when he found himself in police custody.
(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images for ACM)