News Column

Randy Travis Faces DWI Charges

August 9, 2012

Jennifer Chancellor

For the second time in six months, country musician Randy Travis has been arrested on intoxication-related complaints.

Around midnight Tuesday, the 53-year-old allegedly veered his Trans Am off a road west of Tioga, Texas, and struck several construction zone barricades, said Tom Vinger, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

He was naked by the time he got to the jail, Sgt. Ricky Wheeler of the Grayson County Sheriff's Office told ABC News. It's not clear whether he was driving naked or disrobed at some point after the wreck, he said.

Texas Highway Patrol troopers said he was not wearing clothes at the time of his arrest, reported USA Today.

He faces charges of driving while intoxicated. But Travis also was held on complaints of felony retaliation and obstruction after threatening to shoot and kill officers at the scene, said Grayson County Sheriff's Sgt. Rickey Wheeler, according to the Fox news channel.

He also refused field sobriety tests, so blood was drawn, officials said. The results are pending.

The musician was booked and held overnight and released after posting $21,500 bond Wednesday morning, sources report.

Travis was most recently scheduled to perform in Oklahoma on July 3 at the Downstream Casino Resort near Quapaw. He's been a regular at Oklahoma venues in the past year, including shows at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Buffalo Run Casino Hotel and Winstar World Casino.

In February, Travis was found in a parked car near a church about 20 miles from his home town of Tioga. He was charged with public intoxication.

At that time, he apologized to his fans with a public statement: "I apologize for what resulted following an evening of celebrating the Super Bowl. ... I'm committed to being responsible and accountable, and apologize for my actions."

He's also been embroiled in a contentious and public divorce with his ex-wife and former manager, Elizabeth Hatcher Travis.

Travis acknowledges a rough-and-tumble childhood with arrests for auto theft and burglary.

He's also won seven Dove gospel awards and six Grammy Awards. He's released more than 20 studio albums since his career started in 1978 and has charted 50 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

Pollstar Pro shows he has tour dates booked through the end of October, the next one Aug. 18 in Michigan. There's no word from his management if any may be postponed or canceled.

The Associated Press contributed to this report



Source: (c) 2012 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Distributed by MCT Information Services


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