Country music star Sam Hunt pleads guilty to DUI charges in Nashville
Natalie Neysa Alund
NASHVILLE - Country music star Sam Hunt, indicted following his DUI 2019 arrest in Nashville, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI charges on Wednesday in Davidson County Circuit Court.
Hunt entered the plea in court for a hearing on the case in July before Judge Amanda McClendon in the downtown Nashville Historic Courthouse.
The Nashville-based singer pleaded guilty to two counts of DUI and was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail with all time suspended except for 48 hours.
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Under the plea, he agreed to serve the jail stint at the DUI Education Centers, an alternative sentencing facility, and complete an alcohol safety course. He will also lose his license for one year and is required to have an interlock installed in his vehicle when his license is reinstated.
Had he gone to trial and been convicted Hunt faced more than two years in prison.
Hunt, wearing a while button down shirt, appeared via video conference from what appeared to be one of his Nashville homes. He is represented by Attorney Rob McKinney.
Hunt recently collaborated with singer Ingrid Andress on the new single “Wishful Drinking." It's Hunt’s first new recording since 2020’s Southside.
On Wednesday, "Wishful Drinking" stood at No. 40 on Billboard Music country charts.
More than two times the legal limit
A Davidson County grand jury indicted Hunt, 36, in December on charges of first-offense DUI, another DUI charge and an open container violation in connection with his Nov. 21, 2019, arrest by Metro Nashville police.
The open container charge was dropped as part of his plea deal Wednesday, said Assistant State Attorney Seth Colon, who prosecuted the case.
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On the day of the offense, Colon said, the "Body Like a Back Road" singer drove the wrong way on Ellington Parkway just after 4 a.m. before exiting at Cleveland Street towards Gallatin Avenue.
Police pulled Hunt over on Fifth Street and he admitted to drinking alcohol, Colon said.
Sobriety tests were conducted in the field and were captured on an MNPD dashboard camera. Hunt tested with a blood alcohol level of 0.173, well over the legal limit of 0.08, Colon said.
After his arrest, Hunt apologized for his actions on social media.
"It was a poor and selfish decision," he wrote. "And I apologize to everyone who was
unknowingly put at risk and let down by it. It won’t happen again."
Natalie Neysa Alund is based in Nashville at The Tennessean and covers breaking news across the South for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.