Famously known as Chumlee of "Pawn Stars," Austin Russell, 33, was arrested on felony weapon and drug charges and was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on March 9, Wednesday. The History reality TV series figure can expect Rick Harrison, 50.
"We don't have details yet but are here to help Chumlee however we can," Las Vegas Sun quoted Harrison as saying. With his bail set at $62,000, Chumlee is facing one count of possession of a gun by a prohibited person and 19 drug possession charges.
The discovery of drugs and firearms in Chumlee's house in southwest Las Vegas Valley was not expected. Metro Police discovered firearms, methamphetamine and marijuana in his house while serving a search warrant in a sexual assault investigation.
The sexual assault investigation, which is still continuing, came from a recent complaint by a woman. It has yet to be confirmed if Chumlee, who has not been charged in the sexual assault case, had a lawyer.
Few weeks before the premiere episode of "Pawn Stars," Chumlee had to deal with the death of his father in 2009. His father was 54 when he died of pancreatic cancer.
Chumlee was 21 when he started working for the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. By the time of filming "Pawn Stars" Season 1, he had been working in the pawn shop for five years.
Neither A&E Network nor the History Channel declined has released a statement. Meanwhile, A+E Networks international content sales and partnerships managing director Joel Denton recently talked about "Pawn Stars" and trending factual genres.
In an interview with TV Real, Denton said "Pawn Stars is a program that "broke factual internationally." According to him, the reality show proved that factual content could rate on large free-to-air networks and in prime time and what leads viewers to return to a show is the relationship between the audience and the characters.
Denton has nothing but good words about Harrison. The former described the latter as "an extraordinary character with an extraordinary brain" who could be "an uncle or a friend or somebody you meet at a bar."
Watch a recent clip from "Pawn Stars" here: