Sam Hunt pleads guilty to two counts of DUI following his 2019 arrest

John Shearer/CMT2020/Getty Images for CMT

Nashville's The Tennesseean newspaper reports that Sam Hunt appeared virtually at the Davidson County Circuit Court in Nashville on Wednesday, pleading guilty to two DUI charges. 

The singer was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail, all of which will be suspended except for 48 hours. He’ll serve his brief jail stint at an alternate sentencing facility, the DUI Education Centers. 

Under his plea, Sam also agreed complete a course in alcohol safety and surrender his driver’s license for one year. When he gets his license back, he’ll be required to have a breath alcohol ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle.

The trial follows Sam’s 2019 arrest, in which police stopped him after someone reported a vehicle driving the wrong way down Ellington Parkway in East Nashville. Per the police report, Sam was alone in the car, with two empty beer cans at his side. Tests revealed he had a blood alcohol level of .173, which is over twice the legal limit of .08.

Sam was indicted on two charges of DUI, plus an open container violation, the latter of which was dropped as part of his plea deal. 

Following his arrest, Sam issued a statement on social media, apologizing for his “poor and selfish decision” to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol at a friend’s show. 

Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 2:00PM by Carena Liptak Permalink