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Singer Darius Rucker pleads no contest in Tennessee marijuana case

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After a three-month delay, country music star Darius Rucker pleaded no contest to simple possession in a Williamson County courtroom on Tuesday in connection with a February 2023 traffic stop in Franklin.

The Hootie and the Blowfish singer received a suspended sentence of 11 months and 29 days, and two other charges – simple possession and expired registration – were dropped as part of the agreement.

Rucker seemed relieved when presiding judge MT Taylor accepted his plea.

“I really hope you complete your probation,” the judge told him.

Rucker first appeared in court on the charges on June 25, but the date was postponed until Tuesday.

Why was Darius Rucker in court?

According to an affidavit, Franklin police originally stopped the singer on February 19, 2023, on Murfreesboro Road near Breckenridge Drive for an expired license plate.

As officers approached the car, they smelled marijuana, the affidavit states. It says they then searched the car and found 14 purple pills that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation later determined contained psilocybin, as well as a black vape pen with 88.5 percent THC.

Rucker told police his girlfriend gave him the items and said he did not know what the purple pills were, the affidavit states.

Then, according to police, he pulled out a blunt and told officers it was marijuana.

He turned himself in and was booked into the Williamson County Jail on February 1.

During Tuesday's hearing, the Williamson County District Attorney's Office recommended that the other charges against Rucker be dropped due to “his good character.”

Rucker, his defense attorney Mark Puryear and entertainment attorney Richard “Gus” Gusler declined to comment as they left the courthouse Tuesday.

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