NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The bodyguard for country singer Gretchen Wilson was charged Tuesday night with unlawful weapons possession while she was at the Country Music Association’s awards show.
Police said they found at least four weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the sport utility vehicle belonging to Daniel Lee Rhoades, 38, of Olive Branch, Miss.
Officers said Rhoades also was carrying a 9 mm pistol and retractable police baton.
At the time the vehicle was found in a parking lot, Rhoades was with Wilson at the nearby Grand Ole Opry House where the show was being held.
Rhoades told WSMV-TV the weapons slipped his mind.
“I had been at the shooting range on Halloween; that’s why the guns were there,” he said. “I did not unload the (SUV).”
Wilson won the Horizon Award for career advancement, based mainly on her hit “Redneck Woman.”
A publicist at her record company did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday night.
Police also said Rhoades was charged with acting as a security guard without a license.
The SUV’s passenger window was left down and three pistols and a shotgun were found inside with the ammunition, police said.
