Mindy McCready Jailed

Troubled country singer arrested in Florida for alleged probation violation

By Sarah Hall Aug 29, 2005 7:20 PMTags

Mindy McCready has gone from songbird to jailbird.

The country crooner was locked up in Florida Friday on an arrest warrant issued earlier this month after she was accused of violating her probation on a drug conviction.

According to the warrant, the "Guys Do It All the Time" singer left Tennessee without permission and failed to check in with her probation officer during the month of July.

As the incident marks the second time McCready has violated her probation, she was not permitted to post bail and will likely have to serve time, authorities said.

The 29-year-old singer's probation stems from an August 2004 incident where she was charged with fraudulently obtaining the painkiller OxyContin from a Tennessee pharmacy.

McCready, who claimed she was trying to score the pills for a friend, eventually pleaded guilty to the charge and was slapped with a $4,000 fine, sentenced to three years of supervised probation and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.

In May 2005, the former Nashville darling was stopped for speeding and wound up being charged with drunken driving and driving with a suspended license, which earned her first probation violation.

Two days after her DUI arrest, McCready was beaten and almost choked to death by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, William McKnight, 38, who allegedly ambushed the singer in her home and was later charged with attempted murder as a result of the altercation.

McCready may have survived the incident, but the drama was far from over for the singer.

Last month, McCready was hospitalized in Florida after a drug overdose that police deemed an apparent suicide attempt.

McKnight, with whom the singer had reconciled, gave authorities on the scene a note purportedly penned by McCready in which she bid farewell to friends and family members.

The overdose came just days after McCready was charged in Arizona on counts including identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment and hindering prosecution.

The singer was expected in an Arizona courtroom on July 29 to be arraigned on the charges, but missed the court date. A judge rescheduled the arraignment for Tuesday.

However, seeing as McCready is currently behind bars in Florida, it seems unlikely that she will be able to make her Arizona hearing.