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Randy Travis arrested naked, charged with driving while intoxicated

second Texas arrest this year for country singer

AP
Published: 15:16 August 9, 2012

Image Credit: AP
This photo provided by the Grayson County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office shows Country singer Randy Travis who has been charged with driving while intoxicated. Authorities say Travis was being jailed without bond Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, pending an appearance before a judge in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles north of Dallas. (AP Photo/Grayson County Sheriff's Office)

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Country singer Randy Travis was charged with driving while intoxicated and threatening law officers after he crashed his Pontiac Trans Am and was found naked and combative at the scene, Texas officials said.

The accident was reported Tuesday night, and Travis walked out of jail Wednesday morning wearing scrubs, no shoes and a University of Texas baseball cap. It was the second Texas arrest this year for Travis, who was cited in February for public intoxication.

A Pontiac Trans Am registered to the 53-year-old singer had veered off a roadway near Tioga, a town about 60 miles north of Dallas where the entertainer lives, and struck several barricades in a construction zone, said Tom Vinger, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Vinger said Travis made threats against DPS troopers and was not wearing clothes at the time of his arrest. The singer refused sobriety tests so a blood specimen was taken, he said.

"Travis had a strong odour of alcoholic beverage on his breath and several signs of intoxication," according to a statement from the Grayson County Sheriff's Office. "While Travis was being transported, Travis made threats to shoot and kill the troopers working the case."

Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown said his office will review the DPS report of the arrest.

A Travis representative said there would be no immediate comment on the arrest.

Travis, who suffered facial bruises in the crash, was released on $21,500 (Dh78,905) bond Wednesday morning from the jail in Sherman, Vinger said. Blood-test results are pending.

In February, Travis was charged with public intoxication after being spotted in a vehicle parked in front of a church in Sanger, about 20 miles from Tioga.

He also has been involved in messy court proceedings with his ex-wife. Travis was divorced from Elizabeth Travis in 2010 after 19 years of marriage.

Earlier this year, Elizabeth Travis, who had been his manager for more than three decades, filed a lawsuit claiming that Randy Travis made it impossible for her to do her job and terminated her management contract without proper notice. She said her ex-husband sent several men, including an armed guard, to clean out her offices.

Randy Travis countersued in May, accusing his ex-wife of divulging confidential information about him in order to damage his reputation and career. The court documents don't say what information Elizabeth Travis is alleged to have betrayed.

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