James Brown Mugshot: Arrests, Sentence, and 2003 Pardon

The James Brown mugshot that circulates most widely came out of his September 24, 1988, arrest in Georgia, after the singer walked into an insurance seminar carrying a shotgun and then led as many as fourteen police cars on a high-speed chase across the Georgia–South Carolina line. The booking photo that followed, showing a disheveled Brown staring into the camera, became one of the most recognizable images in music history. It was not his only arrest, but it was the one that put the Godfather of Soul in prison.

What Happened on September 24, 1988

Shortly after noon that day, Brown walked into an insurance seminar at an office complex on Washington Road in Augusta, Georgia, waving a shotgun. His stated grievance, according to reporting at the time, was that strangers had been using the restroom in his nearby office.¹ He ordered the attendees out of the room,² then left in a red-and-white 1987 Ford pickup truck.

What followed was an interstate chase that reached speeds of up to 80 mph, weaving down Interstate 20 from Georgia into South Carolina and back again, with as many as fourteen police cars in pursuit.³ When Brown pulled into a parking lot, officers shot out his front tires. Police said Brown then tried to drive toward them as he exited. Brown told a different story: he said he had been surrendering to a Black officer when a group of white officers arrived, smashed his truck windows, and started shooting, and that he drove off because he feared for his life.²

Either way, Brown kept going on the wheel rims for another six miles before the truck landed in a ditch in Augusta, ending the chase.³²¹

The Charges and the Six-Year Sentence

The case was tried in Aiken County, South Carolina. The charges Brown faced included aggravated assault, failure to stop for police, carrying a deadly weapon at a public gathering, and driving under the influence of drugs.¹ After more than three hours of deliberation, the jury found him guilty of two counts of aggravated assault and one count of eluding the police. He was acquitted of assault with intent to kill.⁴

On December 15, 1988, Circuit Judge Herbert Long sentenced Brown to six years in prison, five years of probation, and a $6,000 fine. A motion for a new trial and a request to reduce the sentence were both denied the following day.⁵

Time Served

Brown began his sentence at the State Park Correctional Center in South Carolina as Inmate No. 155413.¹ He served fifteen months in a prison near Columbia, South Carolina, followed by ten months in a work-release program in Aiken, and was paroled on February 27, 1991.⁶

The Other Arrests

The 1988 booking photo is the one most people recognize, but it was far from Brown’s only run-in with the law.

A Juvenile Sentence at Fifteen

Brown’s trouble with the law started early. At age fifteen he was caught committing petty theft and received a sentence of eight to sixteen years in juvenile prison.⁷ He served time at a juvenile detention facility in Toccoa, Georgia, where he formed a gospel quartet with fellow inmates that would seed his later musical career.⁸ Brown appealed to the parole board and was released shortly after his nineteenth birthday.

Drugs and Weapons, 1998

In January 1998, sheriff’s deputies in Aiken, South Carolina, took Brown into custody on a probate judge’s order as a “mental transport.”⁶ Police found marijuana and guns at his home, and he was charged with marijuana possession and unlawful use of a firearm.⁹ Brown spent a week in a private Columbia, South Carolina, hospital; his agent attributed the stay to a dependency on painkillers taken for a back injury sustained during a show. He was convicted of use of a weapon while under the influence and completed a 90-day drug treatment program.

Domestic Violence Arrest, 2004

On January 28, 2004, Aiken County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 hang-up call at Brown’s home in Beech Island, South Carolina. Deputies reported that Brown had pushed his wife, Tomi Rae Brown, to the floor during a bedroom argument. According to the police report, he also held a wrought iron chair over her and told her he was going to kill her.¹⁰ Tomi Rae Brown was treated at the Medical College of Georgia for scratches, bruises on her arm, and an injury to her hip.¹¹

Brown was held overnight at the Aiken County Detention Center and released the next morning on a personal recognizance bond.¹¹ Rather than go to trial, he chose not to contest the charge. His lawyer, Jim Huff, stressed that Brown was “not admitting to being guilty of this crime,” but the outcome was legally equivalent to a conviction. Brown forfeited his $1,087 bond, which was applied as the fine; the decision, according to Huff, was made to avoid cross-examining his wife and to keep family matters private.¹²

It was not the first time police had responded to his home. Brown’s third wife, Adrienne Rodriguez, had him arrested four times for assault during their marriage and was hospitalized as a result of his abuse.¹³

The 2003 Pardon

On May 20, 2003, the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services granted Brown a full pardon covering both his 1988 and 1998 convictions. Brown, then 70, appeared in person before the seven-member board, supported by friends, family, and state lawmakers including State Representative Ken Kennedy. The pardon meant Brown was “fully forgiven from all the legal consequences of his crimes and his convictions.” After the vote, he sang “God Bless America.” He had unsuccessfully applied for a pardon once before, in 2001.⁶ The booking photos remained in circulation long after the convictions themselves had been wiped away.

1
TIME. James Brown
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History.com. James Brown Begins His Prison Sentence
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Chicago Tribune. Why Has James Brown Gone From Concert Stage to Jail Cell
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The New York Times. Singer James Brown Receives 6-Year Sentence in Car Chase
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Los Angeles Times. James Brown Sentenced
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CBS News. Godfather of Soul Pardoned
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New Georgia Encyclopedia. James Brown
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American Songwriter. James Brown Performed His First Concert Following His Release From Prison
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Chicago Tribune. James Brown Arrested on Drug and Weapons Charges
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CNN. James Brown Death Questions
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WIS-TV. James Brown Released on Personal Recognizance After Domestic Violence Charges
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CBS News. James Brown Won’t Contest Charge
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BBC. 4 Things We’re Not Sure We Wanted to Know About James Brown