Nelly’s recent scandal has got a lot of people looking back through the years at some of his previous run-ins with the law.
While some rappers see their legends grow when they face legal issues, Nelly has repeatedly damaged his reputation in how he’s handled getting arrested.
Did Nelly Sell Out His Friend?
More than a decade ago, one high-profile bust saw Nelly come in for criticism after appearing to sell out his friends to get off some serious charges.
Here’s what we know about the time his bodyguard took the fall for him.
Sierra Blanca, Texas, has been known as a hotspot for high-profile celebrity arrests for many years.
The small town has a reputation for its strict enforcement of substance laws, and it apparently makes no special allowance for the rich and famous.
Among the stars who have experienced the town’s zero tolerance policy are Fiona Apple and Willie Nelson.
And on October 10, 2012, Nelly was added to that list.
Nelly’s Tour Bus Searched For Drugs
Nelly was traveling through the area with a group of associates on his tour bus.
The bus, registered under Nelly’s real name, was going through a Border Patrol checkpoint.
Outlets reported that at the checkpoint, Border Patrol agents performed a citizenship check on everyone aboard.
A potential issue was signaled by the officer’s sniffer dog, suggesting the presence of either substances or hidden individuals on the bus.
The bus was directed to another lane for a more thorough inspection.
Once stopped, the Border Patrol agent asked all passengers to exit the vehicle to allow the dog to search the bus.
The dog discovered a box and a green duffel bag under the bus.
Agents Found Drugs And Firearms On Nelly’s Tour Bus
What happened next was crazy.
Inside the box, agents discovered a plastic container and 36 small baggies of various illegal substances, as well as a loaded firearm.
The green duffel bag was found to contain over 10 pounds of another substance in nine vacuum-sealed bags.
The officers probably couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
The bus had reportedly only been pulled over by the Tennessee Highway patrol after the cops noticed it was missing two required stickers.
Everyone on the bus was detained, including Nelly.
But things were even crazier than they seemed.
The police also found numerous other firearms around the tour bus.
One of which was a gold-plated firearm.
Nelly And His Associate Arrested
Nelly and one of his associates were charged and taken to County Jail.
There were 4 other men on board who were not charged.
Things were looking bleak for Nelly.
According to the description of what was found on the bus, it sounded like there were enough illegal substances on board to be considered as intent to sell.
Which could have meant serious punishment for those involved.
Brian Keith Jones Took The Charge For Nelly
But as the investigation continued, Nelly managed to avoid big problems after an unexpected twist.
His bodyguard, Brian Keith Jones, reportedly confessed that the substances were his.
As reported by Riverfront Times, Brian took the hit for the bust after a couple of days in jail.
At the time of reporting, he had not been arraigned, and his punishment was unknown.
To be honest, it’s also unknown whether Brian was genuinely responsible or took the blame for someone else.
This made everyone more curious about the nature of Brian’s relationship with his employer Nelly.
According to reports, Brian had worked for the artist as a bodyguard for more than 10 years and was considered a friend by the rapper.
For some, this fuelled speculation that Brian was just trying to help Nelly avoid trouble.
Nelly Questioned Why Brian Jeopardized His Life
But going by some tweets the rapper posted some time after the scandal, it sounded like Nelly was far from happy with his old associate.
In an old tweet, Nelly suggested that someone who he called a friend and who had worked for him for over 10 years had jeopardized his life.
It seemed like Nelly was determined to keep a healthy distance from his old bodyguard and not to seem like he was in any way connected to what had been found on his bus.
Nelly Speaks Out On Former Bodyguard Brian Keith Jones
After Brian was arrested, Nelly talked to TMZ about what happened.
In his statement, Nelly claimed in no uncertain terms that he had nothing to do with what Brian said he had done.
Nelly said, “It is my understanding that a member of my staff made an unfortunate decision to bring unlawful materials onto our tour bus that resulted in his arrest.”
He went on to push himself even further away from any suspicion.
Nelly said, “Neither I nor anyone else on the tour bus was aware of his decision to bring these on board.”
So if his bodyguard really was doing this for Nelly, it looked like he couldn’t expect to get any public support from his boss.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
Nelly and His Lawyer Speak Out
Soon after the bombshell news went public, Nelly’s lawyer released a statement.
He said that they were all extremely confident that Nelly wouldn’t be associated with the contraband that was found on the bus.
Not long after that, Nelly released his own statement, in which he said a lot of the same things.
He claimed that he felt that he needed to take responsibility for his choices.
Which he followed by saying that he needed to be more aware of all the people he associated with and allowed onto his property.
It looked pretty clear what the rapper was trying to say.
Nelly Pleaded Guilty
Nelly was pretty much putting all of the blame for the illegal items on the bus onto his friend.
Which wasn’t exactly the best look for a hip-hop artist at the time.
He was later released on $10,000.
And in December 2015, Nelly pleaded guilty to a smaller misdemeanor charge of possession and was sentenced to one year probation.
Considering how serious things looked when the substances and weapons were first found, this must have felt like a pretty good outcome.
However, some damage had already been done.
Nelly’s decision to try to blame his bodyguard for what was on his bus did not help his street cred as a rapper.
And to this day, not everyone is convinced that Nelly really had no idea what was going on.
Nelly Arrested in St. Louis
It’s recently become clear that issues relating to illegal substances are still plaguing Nelly’s life to this day.
Earlier this month, he was arrested just outside St. Louis.
According to The Shade Room, the rapper was taken into custody just before 5 am on August 7.
He was reportedly charged with possession of illegal substances after being pulled over by police.
He was also alleged to be facing trouble for having no insurance.
In a statement, the police said that they had arrested him for Failure to Appear on an old traffic charge.
Nelly’s Attorney Denied Charges
He has since been released, and a representative for the 49-year-old has made a statement in his defense.
His attorney, Scott Rosenblum, denied the charge against his client.
He said that the rapper had not actually been charged with anything to do with substance possession, but instead for having no proof of insurance.
He added that Nelly had been targeted by an overzealous officer who was completely out of line.
Despite his lawyer’s statement, many are still convinced that illegal substances were involved in Nelly’s recent arrest.
The Sun reported that the rapper appeared to be glassy eyed in his mug shot.
He was also slightly smiling in the photo, suggesting that he was in some way under the influence.
This time, it doesn’t look like there’s anyone else around to take the blame for the rapper.
