Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney Pleads Guilty to DUI
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Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney will serve two days in jail and lose his driver’s license after pleading guilty on Wednesday to a 2021 DUI charge, according to The Tennessean.
A Class A misdemeanor, it carried up to 11 months and 29 days of jail time. Rooney’s remaining sentence of 11 months and 27 days will be suspended, but the country star will be required to take a DUI course. He’s also able to apply for a restricted driver’s license to operate a vehicle with a built-in breathalyzer.
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Rooney was arrested in the early morning hours of Sept. 9 last year after his vehicle collided with a tree on Hillsboro Road in Tennessee’s Williamson County. A Williamson County deputy responded to the scene and Rooney was charged with driving under the influence. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the arrest to Rolling Stone.
Rooney, who lives in Nashville, was booked into Williamson County Jail and released the same day on a $2,500 bond. At the time of the arrest, a rep for Rascal Flatts declined comment.
With his Rascal Flatts bandmates Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus, Rooney enjoyed a two-decade-long string of major successes beginning in 2000. The trio’s peak commercial period between 2000 and 2010 includes the multi-platinum albums Feels Like Today and Me and My Gang, as well as a succession of country chart hits like “Mayberry,” “What Hurts the Most,” “Bless the Broken Road,” and “Here Comes Goodbye.” They claimed the CMA Vocal Group of the Year prize every year between 2003 and 2008.
In 2020, the group put out the album How They Remember You and announced plans for a farewell tour that doubled as a retirement and 20th anniversary celebration. Dates were set to begin in June, but were ultimately canceled early that spring due to the pandemic.
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