FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Country singer George Jones resisted arrest and tried to kick a news cameraman, then was taken to jail and charged with driving while under the influence of an intoxicant, police say.
Jones, 50, was arrested Tuesday on Interstate 65 south of Brentwood after the Tennessee Highway Patrol spotted his gray 1982 Cadillac in south Nashville weaving toward Williamson County. A half-empty bottle of whiskey was found in the car.
Jones was taken to Williamson County Jail in Franklin, where he was held while waiting for $500 bond to be posted. His car was impounded in Franklin.
Brentwood police intercepted Jones, whose car was unlicensed except for a cardboard, hand-lettered plate that read 'Possum 3,' a reference to Jones' nickname.
Brentwood police dispatcher Calvin Hullett said Jones 'wandered down the interstate about a mile' while officer Tommy Campsey tried to get the singer to pull over. Campsey said Jones was not attempting to escape and seemed to be too intoxicated to care.
Jones was alone in the car when he was arrested at about 7 p.m. CDT. Campsey reported he was rowdy and tried to kick a television news cameraman in the groin.
Hullett said no special provisions were made for Jones, who 'quietened down' after being put in the holding cell. He said Jones would 'raise hell a while, then laugh a while' before he finally calmed down.
Jones had legal trouble recently in Mississippi, where he was arrested for driving under the influence and posession of cocaine. He then wrecked his car on the way to his Muscle Shoals, Ala., home and was hospitalized in Birmingham the next day, March 29.
Jones was treated for alcoholism and drug abuse in the Birmingham hospital, but is said to have relapsed soon after being discharged.
Jones is one of country music's most enduring performers, whose hits span from the 1950s to the present and include his current single, 'Same Ole Me.'
