Bassist for 3 Doors Down Guilty In DUI Appeal

Biloxi, MS- 3 Doors Down bassist, Todd Harrell lost his appeal on a drugged driving conviction from August of 2013 when the judge found him guilty the Herald Sun reported.

Harrell, 41, was convicted of DUI other substances last August in relation to a traffic accident that caused while taking a variety of prescription drugs. As a consequence of his conviction, Harrell will be required to spend two days in the Harrison County jail, pay a $1,000 fine, have his driver’s license revoked and attend drug and alcohol awareness and victim impact groups. The judge waived the jail sentence on the condition that Harrell avoids getting into trouble for the next six months, according to the Herald Sun.

The accident occurred in the July of 2012 at 7:30 a.m., when Harrell rear-ended a pickup truck at the intersection of Lemoyne Boulevard Gorenflo Road in D’Iberville.

The arresting officer, Lt. Paul Groate of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, testified that he saw Harrell’s Cadillac come up behind him “at a pretty high rate of speed.” Harrell went around Groate’s vehicle on Lemoyne and crashed into a vehicle stopped at the Gorenflo intersection.

The driver of the truck, Darryl Thibodeaux, told the court that he saw Harrell’s vehicle approach his truck from behind then swerved in what he believed to be an attempt to avoid collision, but veered back and hit the truck with significant force.

The DUI officer called to the scene, Joey Fore, said the Harrell was swaying back and forth and had slowed and slurred speech. Fore also told the court that Harrell passed out in the back of the patrol car while he was speaking to witnesses on the scene.

Harrell admitted that he had taken a Zanaflex at 10 p.m. the night before the accident and consented to a blood test. Harrell later said the blood test was not necessary and revealed that he had taken five different prescription drugs including Oxycodone, Percocet, Flexeril and Xanax.

Harrell’s blood tested positive for all the above mentioned drugs with the exception of the Zanaflex.

This guilty verdict settles one of Harrell’s pending DUI cases. A month before this accident occurred, Harrell was involved in a fatal DUI crash in Nashville.

In that crashed, Harrell clipped a pickup truck with his Cadillac, which sent the driver careening out of control. The truck then slammed into a guardrail and plunged down an embankment where it rolled over several times.

The driver of the truck 47 year-old Paul Shoulders was taken to a local hospital where he died a short time later.

After this accident Harrell admitted to having one cider, taking the powerful painkiller Lortab and Xanax. To make matters worse Harrell allegedly tried to smuggle Xanax into the jail following his arrest for suspicion of DUI.

In addition to DUI, Harrell was charged with vehicle manslaughter and if convicted he could face up to 8 years in jail. Harrell was unable to join his band mates on their European tour because of the charges and has not yet appeared in court.