Known for his screen name Nelly, Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. was arrested by a Tennessee state trooper on felony possession of drugs in Putnam County on April 11, Saturday at approximately 9:20 a.m.
The 40-year-old rapper was charged with simple possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after his tour bus, a Prevost motor coach bus, was stopped by Trooper Michael Loftis stopped on Interstate 40 near the 275 mile marker.
Nelly's tour bus was stopped only for not displaying a United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and International Fuel Tax Association (IFTA) sticker. But when Loftis noticed that the vehicle tour bus was reeking of marijuana, he conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle with the help of THP Sgt. Donald Jennings, Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
In the sleeper area, Loftis and Jennings found a plastic bag containing five colored crystal-type rocks that tested positive for methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.
Furthermore, the troopers discovered several handguns, including a 45-caliber Tarus pistol, a gold-plated 50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol, and a 500 magnum Smith and Wesson, as well as around 100 small Ziploc bags normally linked to the sale of narcotics, TMZ reported.
There were six people in the tour bus including convicted felon Brian Jones, 44. They were traveling to St. Louis, Missouri when the traffic stop happened. Nelly and Jones were transported to the Putnam County Jail.
While he is known as a rapper with several hits such as "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland, Nelly also acts on the side. He plays Officer Glen Donner in the upcoming Jennifer Lynch's thriller film "A Fall From Grace," which stars Willow Shields, Forest Whitaker, Vincent D'Onofrio and Tim Roth, among others.