JACKSON, Miss. -- Country music singer George Jones was arrested Monday by Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents on charges of possession of cocaine after he and a friend were stopped for speeding south of Jackson.
Jones, the Country Music Association's male vocalist of the year for the last two years, and a friend, Nancy Sepulvada, were released from the Hinds County Detention Center on their own recognizance about two hours after the arrest.
Both Jones and Ms. Sepulvada listed their address as Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Tom Dial, director of the Bureau of Narcotics, said the Mississippi Highway Patrol stopped Jones' car, driven by Ms. Sepulvada, after officers clocked the car at 91 mph on Interstate 55 about 20 miles south of Jackson.
Dial said Highway Patrol officers said the 50-year-old Jones 'appeared intoxicated or under the influence of drugs' and called for narcotics agents when they spotted a 'white powdery substance on a floor mat in the back.'
Dial said a trained drug dog 'alerted to' the substance and officers had the drug analyzed at the Jackson Police Department. He said the lab tests revealed the substance was cocaine.
'It was a very small amount, but it will be prosecuted as a felony,' Dial said.
Jones was also charged with public drunkeness, while Ms. Sepulvada was charged with speeding.
Jones is currently touring to promote his new album 'Same Ole Me.'
Jones has had his share of troubles during his career. He underwent treatment for alcholism and declared bankruptcy in 1978 and many felt his career was at an end.
In June 1980, Jones told a reporter he had won his battle with drug abuse and alcholism. 'Every day is rosy now,' he said. 'If I thought for one minute I'd have to go through it again, I'd go jump off a cliff.'
He came right back and won the Grammy and the CMA's male vocalist award.
Jones has said his problems began when he divorced country singer Tammy Wynette in 1976. The two remain friends, he says, and still record together occasionally.
Jones, nicknamed the 'Possum,' has recorded more than 500 songs on over 100 albums and sold millions of records. Even Jones doesn't know how many records he has released. He won a Grammy for his recording of 'He Stopped Loving Her Today.'
