As we and the rest of the internet previously reported country music living legend Willie Nelson has been arrested for marijuana possession in Hudspeth County, TX. This of course isn’t the first time the Red Headed Stranger has been caught with a little green smelling ganja but this IS the first time that he might actually go to prison for the offense.
A California based prosecutor, Robin Sax, told Fox News that:
“If the Texas prosecutors do not reduce the charges, and the marijuana’s weight is indeed six ounces, then he is dealing with felony and a potential minimum of 180 days in a county jail and a maximum of two years, with a $10,000 fine.”
Another interesting turn in this Willie weed situation is the radical position of the representative Sheriff for whom the buck stops in the county where Nelson was arrested. His name is Arvin West and he has his own cult following among some Americans. In the following clip Arvin defends a statement he made in which he encouraged his citizens to arm themselves with guns and prepare for war in the area’s battle against the import of illegal drugs. This ain’t good for my man Willie!
“The only thing that separates the bad people from us now is the Rio Grande river and it ain’t so Rio Grande here.” – Sheriff Arvin West
Woah buddy Arvin is beyond old school. In some ways I can kind of sympathize with Arvin’s situation. I can’t imagine the danger the people under his care face from the Mexican drug cartels that often run the show just within a shotgun blast of their homes. But I would imagine that escalating the amount of guns into the equation could have possibly dire consequences.
Anyways, back to what’s important here and that’s the fate of Willie Nelson. As we’ve seen, the eleven-gallon-hat wearing man who booked Willie doesn’t seem to be too supportive of drug trafficking if you know what I mean. Willie Nelson is a Texas legend for sure but the Lone Star state is massive and Sierra Blanca is a long way away from Austin where the city’s long running slogan is “keep it weird.”
A man named West who’s sworn to uphold the law in west Texas. Kind of feels a bit like Tommy Lee Jones’ character in No Country For Old Men. In that film the Sheriff is haunted by evil personified in the form of Javier Bardem’s chilling killer Antone Chagur. As for Sheriff West it looks like his Waterloo might just well be Willie Nelson and his bus Honeysuckle Rose. At least it’s not up to West whether or not to sentence Willie to prison time.
For that person and the weight of their decision I feel extremely sorry. You know there’s a town in Texas where the prosecutor and Willie might be able to go and settle their differences. According to the late Waylon Jennings a little out of the way town called Luckenbach has a certain type of magic!
If Arvin West and the rest of the law dogs believe like Cormac McCarthy wrote, that west Texas IS no country for old men, old man Willie might be headed to the big house. And in that house Shotgun Willie better not be laying around in his underwear.
