Country singer Paul Cauthen arrested while on tour

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WHNS/Gray News) - A singer-songwriter who was arrested while on tour in South Carolina took to social media to address the drug charges.

Paul Cauthen, an alt-country musician from East Texas also known as “Big Velvet,” started in the duo Sons of Fathers. He later launched a solo career, releasing four albums so far.

According to the Charleston County Detention Center, Cauthen was arrested May 18 by Isle of Palms police. He is charged with possession of a Schedule I controlled substance and manufacturing or possessing a controlled substance.

According to the incident report, police spotted Cauthen’s tour bus parked illegally on a public roadway. The officer described a strong order of marijuana coming from the bus.

Marijuana, Xanax, diazepam, cocaine, heroin and a glass pipe were seized during a search of the bus, according to the report.

After Cauthen bonded out of the detention center, he posted about the incident Monday on Facebook and Instagram.

“I was arrested last week on tour in South Carolina for marijuana possession and want to clear up some of what’s being said,” Cauthen wrote. “I am not a drug dealer and I don’t ‘manufacture’ drugs. The legal process will play out and my side of the story will be told, hell or high water.”

Cauthen canceled shows in Knoxville and Hurricane Mills, Tennessee after his arrest.

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