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Randy Travis Arrested for Public Intoxication in Front of Church

By Andrew Chow, Esq. on February 06, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Country crooner Randy Travis is likely singing the blues after his arrest for public intoxication outside a Texas church early this morning.

Police in Sanger, Texas, about 50 miles north of Dallas, responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle in front of the town's Baptist church, the website TMZ.com reports.

Police approached the vehicle and found Travis inside, smelling of alcohol and with an open bottle of wine, the Denton Record Chronicle reports. Travis was hauled into jail about 1:30 a.m. -- and held for about four hours.

Why so long?

"The law states that you must bring a person arrested on public intoxication to jail and hold him for at least four hours," a county sheriff's spokesman told the Record Chronicle. After the four-hour period was up, Randy Travis, 52, was released on a citation.

In Texas, public intoxication is a Class C misdemeanor. If convicted, Randy Travis could face a fine of up to $500.

Public intoxication is also known as being "drunk and disorderly." In some states, a person must present a threat to the safety of others in order to be charged. In other states, it's enough for a person to appear drunk or high on drugs, even if the person is not truly intoxicated.

Public intoxication cases aren't always a slam-dunk -- some cases hinge on what's considered "public." In Randy Travis' case, he was sitting inside a private vehicle; however, police observed Travis in plain view from a public place -- the road in front of the church -- which a judge will likely find is sufficiently "public."

Randy Travis, 52, owns a ranch near the town of Tioga, about 20 miles from the scene of Travis' arrest, The Dallas Morning News reports. The Grammy-winning singer is set to kick off a new tour on Friday, KDFW-TV reports.

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