Country music veteran Randy Travis, who has been outspoken about his Christian faith in the last decade, was arrested late Tuesday night in Texas, charged with driving while intoxicated and retaliation or obstruction, according to an Associated Press story. He was held overnight and released Wednesday on $21,500 bond from the jail in Sherman, about 60 miles north of Dallas.
Officials said Travis was naked and threatened to kill state troopers when arrested. Travis’ mug shot reveals cuts on his face and a black eye. When he was released on Wednesday, he was wearing scrubs and was barefoot. It was the second arrest this year involving alcohol for Travis, who was cited in February for public intoxication.
A Travis spokesperson would not comment, according to the AP.
Travis, one of country music’s top stars with six Grammy Awards and more than 50 hit singles, has focused on making gospel music and Christian movies in the last decade or so. Three years ago, he told Christianity Today that he had feared going to hell and decided to turn his life around, giving up drugs and alcohol—and a habit of getting into occasional brawls.
“I’m far more at peace with myself, just having come to know more and more of the Word of God, and that assurance that I will spend eternity in heaven,” Travis told CT at the time. “There were a lot of drugs, alcohol and fighting at such a young age. I didn’t know any peace of mind, so I had a lot of growing in that area to do. It’s nice to feel that peace of everything, in everything.”
Travis was apparently anything but peaceful on Tuesday night. After a 911 caller saw Travis lying in the road, state troopers responded and found the singer naked and belligerent; his wrecked car was later found off the road, banged up at a construction site. Several reports say Travis threatened to “shoot and kill” two state troopers.
District Attorney Joe Brown told the AP that the retaliation or obstruction charge, a felony, could be referred to a grand jury within a month or six weeks; that count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Travis divorced Elizabeth Travis in 2010 after 19 years, but kept her as his manager, a role she held for more than three decades. Earlier this year, though, she filed a lawsuit against Travis, claiming that he made it impossible for her to do her job and terminated her management contract without proper notice. Travis countersued in May, accusing his ex-wife of divulging confidential information about him to damage his reputation and career.
Travis was a huge country star in the 1980s, but his popularity began to decline in the 1990s. But his career saw a resurgence in the early 2000s when he began recording gospel music, including Rise and Shine (2002), Worship and Faith (2003), and Three Wooden Crosses: The Inspirational Hits of Randy Travis (2009). He also appeared in a number of low-budget Christian movies, including The Visitation(2006) and The Wager (2007), both of which were panned by critics. Ironically, in The Wager, Travis plays a star Christian actor whose life begins to fall apart.
Travis mug shot from Grayson County Sheriff’s Office.
