Rapper Nelly's mug shot (courtesy cnn.com)

Rapper Nelly was in Tennessee this weekend. A state trooper pulled his tour bus over for failure to display the appropriate U.S. Department of Transportation and International Fuel Tax Association stickers (a.k.a., a busted taillight). Guess what happened next? Correct! “The trooper was about to conduct an inspection of the bus, a Prevost motor coach, when he ‘noticed an odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle,'” cnn.com reports. “Two troopers then searched the bus, finding ‘five colored crystal-type rocks that tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as a small amount of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia,’ the statement said. The search also turned up . . .

several handguns and 100 small Ziploc bags, which the statement said are commonly used for selling drugs. The guns included a gold-plated .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol, a .45-caliber Taurus pistol and a .500 Smith & Wesson magnum.

Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Haynes, was taken to the Putnam County Jail along with another passenger. He later posted bond and left the jail, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said.

No word on whether the charges against the rapper include firearms-related violations. If you were the handgun taste police, would you ding him for his choices? Enquiring minds want to know. [h/t AG]

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82 COMMENTS

  1. Gold plated Desert Eagle, 500 S&W… then a Taurus. Not that a Desert Eagle is classy, but its far from cheap… but Taurus… I guess you can take the boy out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the boy.

    • Except he really isn’t from the ghetto. He was born in Austin, TX and lived briefly in the inner city of St. Louis only until he was about seven, then moved to University City, a pretty decent St. Louis suburb. He went to U. City High School, which is one of the better public high schools in the area. His “music” career took off while he was still in high school, so he never really had a chance to have one of the prestigious “street cred” roles like pimp or drug dealer. His ghetto persona is as much theater as reality. This is his first major bust and no doubt it will do wonders for his career.

      • Don’t interject facts into the narrative here.

        Some of our posters here like to solidify the stereotypes the antis like to paint us with.

      • Hate to break this to you but it’s still called “U-Sh*tty” for a reason in the STL.

        Yes, there’s a small cadre of 1%ers in the mix, but the vasty majority of the University City populace is lower-class minority folks when you pull out Wash U and FoboCo (or FU nowadays) student bodies.

        U-City is an urban s-hole. One with some $750K houses on nice streets, but the rest is a frakkin’ dump.

  2. Who GAD? Just another ghetto loser rap “artist” (unrightfully targeted by the police;)) with more money than brains. He’ll just end up in prison with the rest of his type. I’m sure the gold “fiddy” was simply for photo-ops when he was sporting his diamond-crusted gold grill and waving wads of cash around. What a baller.

  5. What, plastic bags illegal now? They had better not look in the wife’s carry-on then. It’s such bs that they can pile common household items in with legitimate contraband just because they need to pile on before the plea bargain.

    • In the War on Drugs (in which LE is making a lot of money through Civil Forfeiture) baggies become evidence of drug trafficking. In fact, almost anything else can be.

      And you say that’s “lettuce” on your ham and cheese…….

      • Also significant amounts of cash. Cops around the country have seized cash from people carrying around thousands, because there’s no legitimate reason to carry around $8000 cash…like buying a used car. And the people have to spend thousands in legal fees to get their thousands back.

    • In a constitutional republic that claims to defend liberty, such as in the U.S.A, there is NO SUCH THING as legitimate contraband.

  6. If you are not a convicted felon, or legally insane, taste is irrelevant, buy what ever you can afford and desire. Personally I’d love a Federov automat circa 1915 or so.
    P.S. if he’s carrying the dessert eagle IWB maybe he’s got issues.

    • lets be honest, the federov automat is pretty awesome looking especially when you consider how long ago that was

      • Funny how those “backward, inferior, subhuman Russians” thought of the concept and successfully built the first assault rifle back then while the West was still trying to get a semi-auto rifle to work right. It saw use in WWI, Russian Civil War, The Winter War, and was even used by some Soviet Border Guard units during the Cold War.

        Even funnier when it had a forward grip and fired a 6.5 caliber bullet which seems to be the rage these days on the AR. It has come full circle.

  7. ” 100 small Ziploc bags, which the statement said are commonly used for selling drugs. ”

    Or packing sandwiches

    • Context is important. I use small plastic bags (not necessarily Ziploc) to pack the merchandise that I buy and sell (precious metal scrap). In the same cabinet you will find metal-testing solution, invoices, receipt books, bullion guides, and other precious-metals commerce-related stuff. If the guy had a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter or a package of lunch meat around, then it might be reasonable to think he could be using the bags to pack sandwiches. If instead he has scales and drugs around…

      • As far as the “War On Drugs” is concerned, context is BS. If you’ve got a kilo of cocaine, it doesn’t matter if you have baggies or not. Conversely, if there’s not enough drugs to support a trafficking charge, then it shouldn’t matter if you have a pallet of Ziplocs. Plastic bags aren’t illegal, and using this sort of “context” logic to make them into “drug paraphrenalia” (another bogus concept) is a ridiculous government overreach.

  9. A slight adjustment to the “start with 4” rule, his has to have a 5 somewhere. Where is his .357?

    • If it didn’t “work” ie. Frequently produce a bus with evidence of drug consumption (and potential distribution) and firearms of dubious legality etc etc they wouldn’t use it.

      Everyone needs to get over themselves, busted tail lights, improper certifications, expired/invalid registration etc etc are all indicators of someone who is careless or think they are above the law. Coincidentally those characteristics also tend to follow other types of illegal activity. If the only thing is you didn’t know your light was out or you didn’t have enough money to renew your registration then the resulting unconstitutional search is unwarranted and you can fight that. If you are carting drugs around or have a list of prints ten pages long maybe you should be more attentive to little stuff like permits/ road tax etc.

      I have no sympathy for people who get caught trying to win stupid prizes.

      • …and I have little patience with anyone who thinks that all you listed are legitimate and/or justifiable actions in a libertarian society. The founders would bitch-slap the lot of us when they found out we let taxes get so ubiquitous.

      • “…then the resulting unconstitutional search is unwarranted…”

        All unconstitutional searches are unwarranted. I don’t care if the guy has prior convictions and a dozen prison tattoos on his neck, or if it’s a 90-year-old granny on her way to church. If you stop them for the taillight, write the ticket for that and send them on their way. Using it as a pretext to go fishing for other crimes is barely a step above NYC’s infamous “stop and frisk” bullshit.

        • In the description, I did not see where they mentioned the receipt of a warrant during this operation. I also see no rationale for a need for speed precluding a warrant. Do we just not care about warrants anymore?

        • Some don’t.

          Some of the commentors here only care about the 2nd amendment and are otherwise statists.

          The irony when they call out other statists for not caring about the second (while they themselves are ok with a police state) is not lost on me.

    • What are you suggesting? Hip-hop “artists” shouldn’t be required to pay the same taxes that everyone else has to pay? How do you suggest such laws be enforced?

    • There are even more ridiculous excuses used for so-called traffic stops.
      I passed a car pulled over on the highway by two patrol cars. It looked like the police had concluded their business with the driver and were leaving as I passed. Within a half-mile, I saw roof lights flashing in my rearview mirror. I was pulled over by the same two cops. They told me it was because “You appeared to be weaving” (this was at 2 in the afternoon).
      After inspecting my documents and advising me to “drive carefully”, they took off down the highway again. I put my papers back where they belonged, and continued on my way. Less than a mile down the road, there they were again, with another motorist pulled over.
      If I only had the time, I would have followed them to see how many cars they would pull over, but some of us have to make an honest living.

      • Was this in Tennessee? They are known for random stops to find an excuse to seize money and property.

      • I got pulled for the same thing, came over the hill saw cruiser with its lights on so I pulled into the left lane, reason stated was for driving in the left lane while not passing another vehicle. which is funny because Texas law mandates that you slow down or pull over for stopped emergency vehicles, but I was driving my dad’s 325i and I had a radar detector that I didn’t have time to pull off the windscreen.

        Asked me to step out of the car and then we played 20 questions. I answered everything politely and respectfully and was on my way again. Then again I also wasn’t rolling with a few rocks of crystal meth or unregistered firearms, license reg and insurance were all current, car well maintained, and I didn’t cop and attitude at any point during the interrogation. Made up the five minutes lost in no time once the v1 stopped chirping from the speed trap he set up after he left me.

  11. If you can afford the “bus”, why not just hire a white guy in his 50’s driving a Toyota to carry your stash a half a mile behind?

    • Quote: “…why not just hire a white guy in his 50’s driving a Toyota…”

      Hey, that’s me! I’ve been looking for a new gig for a while.

      Or not.

  12. So if the tour bus can prove that they WERE displaying the correct stickers, all of the evidence is thrown out as an illegal search and seizure, since there was no PC for the stop, right?

    • The don’t need probable cause because the got the “reasonable suspicion” when they “SMELLED THE ODOR OF MARIJUANA”, which is basically a bullshit standard that opens the door for every unreasonable search & seizure, EVER. “Do I smell weed?” “I think I smell alcohol…” It’s all crap.

      • I thought that one of the federal courts just ruled that the odor of pot is not sufficient reason for a search.

      • I’ve had this shit pulled on me three separate times. See a younger guy driving a nice car in a not-so-great neighborhood, with windows tinted (within the legal limits), of course he must have drugs on him. Pulled over, invariably for some minor BS traffic infraction (that usually I dont even get cited for).

        -Sir, how much marijuana do you have in the car?!?! (have you ever noticed that there is nothing so filled with condescension and contempt as when a policeman refers to you as ‘Sir’ in that sneering tone?).
        -Absolutely none
        -Don’t lie to me Sir, I can clearly detect the odor of marijuana, you were either just smoking in this car or someone smokes in it regularly. Just tell us where it is
        -I wouldn’t presume to accuse you of lying, but you are mistaken. I haven’t touched that stuff since I was in high school (true statement). I’ve never had any in this car. No one else drives this car besides me. There isn’t now, nor has there been any marijuana in this car since I’ve owned it (true statement).
        -Well Sir, since you’re not being honest with me, we’re going to have to search your vehicle to find the marijuana.

        Cue a conversation where I politely make it clear that i do not consent to their search, but will do nothing to interfere with them if they proceed. They proceed, while I spend 30 minutes sitting in the heat on the side of the road, one time while handcuffed “for my protection” (still trying to wrap my mind around that one). If I have my concealed gun on me or in my car at the time (as I usually do) there’s also the conversation about is it “registered” (well no sir since there is no firearms registration in this state), is it legal (I show them my CCW), why do i “need” a gun, what do i use the gun for, etc. etc.

        Inevitably, they find nothing, as there was nothing to find. Once its all done and they’ve given me the go ahead to leave, I will usually ask them something along the lines of “Pardon me officer, out of curiosity, do you still clearly detect the odor of marijuana?” Had one guy try to justify it that I was “lucky [they] couldn’t find it this time” and “we must have aired out the car enough that the smell isn’t there any more”.

        The end result is a huge waste of my and their time, taxpayer money, police resources, all for nothing, and based completely on a lie. The first time I was so disgusted at the violation of my 4th ammendment rights that I decided I’d DO something about it. But after weeks of calling, writing, complaining to the police dept, state LEO org, DA office, etc. No-one. Fucking. Cares. Violating the constitution? Who gives a warm dog shit.

        For what it’s worth, I’m white. Apparently experiences like mine are even more common amongst the minority community.

        Sorry for the rant

  13. Was he ever convicted of any other crime? Is there any other record beyond this possession of contraban substances? He’s not out on parole from some other felony, or has a history of violence of any kind. This was an unfortunate ‘being in the wrong place at the wrong time (doing the wrong thing). If he wasn’t driving under the influence, I’d call this one a ‘victimless crime’. What innocent victims did the police save with this one … (being they were out on a ‘fishing expedition’ to start with)?

  14. Maybe they can use his bail money to pay for a better camera that actually creates an in-focus mug shot.

  16. Gold plated DE must be the standard. I pulled one of those out of a guys bag in a similar situation. It looked pretty awesome in person

    • yes, gold plated is the standard, the only question left is to tiger stripe or not… 🙂

  18. He should have had a lawyer in his RV instead of narcotics. Get a flunky to drive a second vehicle with the dope (a dope to carry the dope) and then disavow all knowledge if the flunky gets pulled over.

    • The cops can bring their own drugs, if necessary. You know, in case they actually don’t find any in the search after they “smell pot” following the breaking of your tail light, etc.

  19. hell with me, I may hate his “music” but if ziploc baggies count as contraband now we’re screwed. I’ve got gallon and quart and “snack” size in my kitchen. I guess I’m Walter frigging White then?

  21. Ding him for his taste in handguns? No.
    Ding him for not knowing his rights during a traffic stop. Yes!

  22. Guessing that meth + marijuana + guns is not a good combination. Likely they had some booze in there as well that was not mentioned. Looks like this rapper may lose his right to own or carry a gun in the future. Of course, he will still get one and have it available. Probably just have one of his buddies take it if the police take a look in the future and he will say it is theirs. Likely he will register it in their name and carry it himself, most of the time.

  24. It’s a bullshit stop. If it’s a privately owned motorcoach (owned by Nelly himself), it doesn’t need a DOT number or IFTA sticker. The only time you need either one is if the motorcoach is “for hire”, and you’re going to buy your fuel tax exempt.

  26. Asset Forfeiture of the bus, guns and all inventory in the bus. Big Payday for law enforcement.

    You all can sit back and talk about your parchment rights but they are systematically worked around by police lobbying legislative laws, upheld by judges and roadside checklist protocols.

  27. They should run ballistics on the weapons just in case. Also, when will Al Sharpton make an appearance?

  28. I’m stunned that a hip-hop guy was discovered with drugs on his bus. Just stunned. Next thing you know, the cops will discover that Kim Kardashian has a big ass.

  29. The trooper should be happy that everyone on the bus wanted to be nice. Seems they had the fire-power to make things go sideways had they had the proclivity to do so.

  31. I like the holier than thou rolling off these comments.

    He got pulled over. Police smelled pot. I’m really not sure where there’s why there’s even a debate going on here. ZOMGtheFOUNDINGFATHERSwouldBEHORRIFIED! No, I’m pretty sure they would have sided with the police officer on this one. I also love how we immeditely try to devalue the police action by associating it with a busted tail light. C’mon, seriously?

    • I somehow don’t think the founding fathers would be cool with sending someone to prison for possessing a few leaves of a plant.

        • FFs wouldn’t have given two good flyins about the “harder drugs” either. That’s your right as free man until you actually hurt someone as a direct result.

          Take that boot out of your mouth.

  32. Rich guy, with rich guy guns. No surprise there!

    If I was loaded, I’d have a Desert Eagle and a 500 too.

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