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Popper Popped

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:16 am
by hi-power
Although the caption of the picture says the guns and Taser were confiscated, no gun charges are listed in the story.

Blues Traveler Frontman John Popper Arrested After Cops Find Weapons Cache, Drugs in His SUV

Image
March 7: A cache of weapons was confiscated during the arrest
of Blues Traveler frontman John Popper near Ritzville, Wash., is seen.


Thursday, March 08, 2007
Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. — Blues Traveler singer and harmonica player John Popper was arrested after the vehicle he was riding in was clocked going 111 mph, the Washington State Patrol said Wednesday.

Popper, 39, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 90 near the Spokane/Lincoln county line, the Washington State Patrol said.

Inside the black Mercedes SUV, officers found a cache of weapons and a small amount of marijuana, the Patrol said. A police dog searched the vehicle, finding numerous hidden compartments containing four rifles, nine handguns and a switchblade knife. Authorities also found a Taser and night vision goggles. The vehicle was seized.

Popper, who lives in Snohomish, Wash., is the owner of the vehicle, which was being driven by Brian Gourgeois, 34, of Austin, Texas, said state patrol Trooper Jeff Sevigney. The vehicle also had flashing emergency headlights, a siren and a public address system, the Patrol said.

"Popper indicated to troopers that he had installed these items in his vehicle because (in the event of a natural disaster) he didn't want to be left behind," the Patrol said in a news release. He also told officers he collected weapons, the Patrol said.

The two men were booked administratively into the Adams County jail and released on their own recognizance. Authorities plan to charge them with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Gourgeois will also face a charge of reckless driving, the Patrol said.

Popper did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment Wednesday night.

Popper achieved fame as a harmonica player and frontman for Blues Traveler. The band won a Grammy award in 1996 for the song "Run-around," which Popper composed.

Popper recently formed a group called The John Popper Project with DJ Logic, which released an album in 2006 and is scheduled to go on the road later this month.

Re: Popper Popped

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:14 am
by seamusTX
hi-power wrote:... no gun charges are listed in the story.
According to packing.org, it's legal to carry an unloaded firearm in a vehicle in the state of Washington.

Who in his right mind would drive 111 MPH while carrying dope? I know, innocent until proven guilty.

- Jim

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:43 am
by Will938
Geeze, why didn't he tell them the siren/wigwam/ect were for show purposes only?

Also, in another article they said that there they called the ATF in for assistance and that they were looking at a charge of having a hidden compartment...since when has that been illegal?

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:55 am
by stevie_d_64
If he'd only NOT had the dope in the car...

This would have only been a traffic ticket...

Wait a second, you LEO guys or gals can clarify this for me...

I had heard there is a rate of speed which makes the traffic stop (if you get them to voluntarily stop) an arrestable offence...

Does that vary with the speed zone??? Or is there some other factor???

If the person is stone cold sober, not under stress of an emergency, etc etc...

If they are just going way to fast, and you catch them, I heard there is a rate of speed which gets you arrested and charged with "reckless driving" or some similar charge...

Just curious...

I'm not fixated on the whole gun issue with this stop...Thats just another miscarriage of reporting...

"hidden compartment(s)"... :smilelol5:

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:30 pm
by HankB
Notice there are a couple of Steyr Scout rifles in the mix? Nice rifles - overpriced by at least a third after making due allowance for features and workmanship - but nice nonetheless.

Driving 111 MPH on public roads is often questionable, but when you've got illegal drugs in the car it isn't a mark of high intelligence regardless of road and traffic conditions.

Hmmm . . . how do I go about building a hidden compartment in MY SUV?

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:36 pm
by paulbrodt
I always wondered if those were all Harmonicas on his fancy vest. He probably has two or three guns in plain site but they just blend in with the harmonicas.

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:50 pm
by hi-power
paulbrodt wrote:He probably has two or three guns in plain site but they just blend in with the harmonicas.
Ha! :lol:

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:25 pm
by Paladin
The NVG's at the top are a nice touch.

Sounds like he needs to slow down.

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:50 pm
by nitrogen
Not sure about Texas, but in Arizona, doing more than 15 over, or going over 90mph is a criminal offense (a class 2 misdemeanor as opposed to an infraction)

Texas traffic laws are nearly impossible for a non-lawyer (or me at anyrate) to grok through, so I'm not even sure.

I speak from experience of stupid youth, and an awesome Maricopa County judge who took pity on me and cut the charge down to an infraction and allowed me to take traffic school for it.

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:16 pm
by seamusTX
Horse's mouth:
§ 545.401. RECKLESS DRIVING; OFFENSE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person drives a vehicle in wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.
You can see this is quite subjective. Messing with a cell phone or eating barbecue with both hands easily qualify. Driving 111 MPH anywhere other than an empty stretch of interstate probably does.

- Jim

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:20 pm
by lrb111
There is nothing wrong with a Texan driving 111, nothing. :roll:

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:39 pm
by Bill
I got a ticket in Louisiana for 108 in a 45. It was on I 10 before Lake Charles. It was late at night and as I came over the hill the were barricades closing off one lane. There was a car in front and I decided to hit it and make it around him. Now I was in my 300zx twin turbo and it doesn't take long to go from 75 to 108. As I got to the bottom of the hill my radar detector all most came off the dash the lights were flashing so bright .

Two highway patrol were parked under that bridge, and as I looked back I new this wernt good. I though the best think was to ease off the exit ramp into a gas station were there might be witnesses. The police thought i was running and basically ran me off the road. I did manage to pull into the station.

With guns pulled they pulled me out of the car just like on COPS, and what's more I had a bottle of Vicodin on console. ( I had back surgery a week before) They said they had a real nasty wrecker on the way to pick up the car, then all the sudden ( its a GOD thing) they became friendly. Told me here is your ticket and we will just hold that your driver lic till you make it back to court. He also told me if I would have been stopped two miles further down the road I was in a different Parrish and its a day in jail for every mile over 100. Thats 8 days my friends.

The other neat thing was I purchased a K2 detector on the way out of town and it had a guarantee to pay for your ticket for the first year. Ticket was 300.00 and 6 months probation in that Parrish. I had a 300.00 check in two weeks.

Sorry for so much story, but the answer is it all depends on where you are at
Bill

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:57 pm
by Cosmo 9
What's the rifle next to the shotgun? Huge scope & a giant flash hider.

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:22 pm
by Tote 9
All I can say is Popper and his Buddy both are idiots.

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:43 pm
by srothstein
There is no set speed in Texas where it will automatically change from speeding to reckless driving. Reckless driving, as shown by Jim's (SeamusTX) post, is pretty unclear and would require a lot of work to prove if there was not an accident of some type involved.

One reason that there is no automatic change to reckless is that there is really no set speed limit in Texas. The posted limit is a prima facie case, and you can do 200 if you can convince the judge that it was both reasonable and prudent for the circumstances (I don't suggest you try that argument though it is the law).