Mindy McCready Lands in Jail

Country singer taken into custody upon flight arrival in Nashville, charged with probation violation in arrest for battery and resisting arrest Saturday in Florida

By Natalie Finn Jul 27, 2007 6:05 AMTags

Mindy McCready is really singing the blues these days.

The country star remains jailed Thursday, hours after getting busted for probation violation, stemming from her arrest last week for allegedly assaulting her mother and then resisting arrest.

McCready had just flown into Nashville International Airport via Southwest Airlines Wednesday when sheriff's deputies took her into custody. She was booked at Williamson County Jail, just south of Nashville, at about 5:10 p.m. and is being held without bail, prosecutors said.

Deputy District Attorney Derek Smith says the "Guys Do It All the Time" singer violated her probation on a 2004 drug charge by getting arrested in Florida, as well as by failing to report her latest arrest to her probation officer and by engaging in "assaultive behavior."

Attempts to reach the singer's attorney were unsuccessful. The attorney who previously represented her, Lee Dryer, severed ties with McCready last month, saying she refused to meet "contractual obligations."

"I wish her well, and I hope she comes out of this okay," Dryer told the Associated Press Thursday.

McCready was sentenced to three years' probation and 200 hours of community service almost three years ago (not long ago enough to avoid the rap) and fined $4,000 when she pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining the painkiller OxyContin from a Brentwood, Tennessee, pharmacy. She maintained that the pills were not for her.

McCready was arrested in Fort Myers, Florida, Saturday night, after her mother, Gayle Melody Inge, called police to report that her drunk daughter had just arrived at the family home and was causing a disturbance.

Police said that when they arrived, Inge had a scratch on the side of her face, and McCready, who smelled of alcohol and was holding her 15-month-old son, told officers that they weren't needed.

Per the report, McCready refused to let the cops handcuff her, and a female officer was forced to wrestle the singer to the ground. Then during the booking process, McCready again allegedly became unruly and had to be subdued with pepper spray.

McCready insisted afterward that the deputies who arrived at her mother's home did not represent their intentions clearly, hence the confusion when they tried to cuff her while she was holding her son (a deputy did take the child from her, she admitted, so he was not in danger during the struggle), and that she ended up with a broken nose and bruises all over her body.

The 31-year-old songstress' booking photo shows a gash on the left side of her nose. She was released later that night, after posting $1,000 bail, and is due to appear in court Aug. 14.

As for the probation violation, Smith said McCready could be sentenced to up to three years in prison if she's found guilty. A hearing has been set for Sept. 7.