Cornell Haynes, aka Rapper Nelly, Arrested on Felony Drug Charges in Tennessee Saturday after Hwy Patrol Found Drugs & Handguns on Tour Bus

40 year old Cornell Haynes, better known as the rapper Nelly, was arrested in Tennessee Saturday morning on felony drug charges. According to reports, Tennessee Highway patrol pulled the bus over that Nelly was traveling in around 9:20 AM in Putnam County on Saturday because a U.S. Department of Transportation International Fuel Tax Association sticker wasn’t displayed on the vehicle. Upon inspection, a highway trooper smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and the bus was searched where upon authorities found five crystalline rocks that tested positive for methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana and three handguns. At the time of the arrests, six people in total were on the bus. Nelly’s lawyer said that “there had been 15-20 people that had access to the bus prior to the stop.” The rapper had on Friday performed at the North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington. Nelly and Brian Jones, were detained at Putnam County Jail and released later that day after posting 10,000 bail.

Nelly – mugshot, Putnam County Sheriff’s Dept

The rapper known as Nelly was arrested on felony drug charges in Tennessee on Saturday after highway patrol troopers said they found drugs and handguns in the bus he was riding in.

A Highway Patrol trooper pulled over the bus at around 9:20 a.m. in Putnam County Saturday because a U.S. Department of Transportation International Fuel Tax Association sticker wasn’t displayed, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security said in a statement.

The trooper said he smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and the bus was searched, the department said. Troopers found five crystalline rocks that tested positive for methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana and three handguns, the department said. The department said the drugs were found inside a plastic bag in the sleeping area of the bus.

Nelly, 40, is charged with felony possession of drugs and lesser charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, authorities said. Another man, Brian Jones, was arrested for allegedly having a handgun as a convicted felon, the department said.

Nelly and Jones were booked and taken to the Putnam County Jail, and both men posted $10,000 bail and were released at 5:45 p.m. local time (6:45 p.m. ET), jail officials said.

Nelly Arrested on Felony Drug Charges in Tennessee.

TDOS said in the statement that a state trooper stopped a Prevost motor coach bus the two were riding in on Interstate 40, a highway that connects Nashville and Knoxville, for “failure to display a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and International Fuel Tax Association (IFTA) sticker on the vehicle.” He smelled pot emitting from the bus, the statement said. The trooper, assisted by another one, then “conducted a probable cause search” of the vehicle.

“The troopers discovered in the sleeper area a plastic bag that contained five colored crystal-type rocks that tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as a small amount of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia,” police said.

“Allegedly, a small quantity of contraband (MDMA aka Molly or Ecstasy) was discovered during the routine search,” Nelly’s lawyer said in his statement.

Authorities also said that “further investigation revealed approximately 100 small Ziploc bags that are commonly associated with the sale of narcotics and numerous handguns, including a gold-plated 50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol, a 45-caliber Taurus pistol, and a 500 magnum Smith and Wesson.”