January 10, 2012, 9:35 am

Snoop Dogg Busted at Same Border Crossing That Snared Willie Nelson

By DAVE ITZKOFF



If it’s your job to plan the touring schedule of rebellious rock, hip-hop and country musicians, you might consider organizing future itineraries to avoid the Sierra Blanca highway checkpoint near El Paso. It was there, The Associated Press reported, that the rapper Snoop Dogg was arrested on Saturday for a misdemeanor drug charge, which might not be newsworthy in and of itself, except that Willie Nelson was busted at that same border crossing in 2010.

In the case of Snoop Dogg, the hip-hop star was done in by a real snoop dog, which sniffed out some marijuana cigarettes on his tour bus after a border agent smelled pot on the vehicle. A little more than two ounces of the drug were turned up, The A.P. said, and the rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia and released. Judge Becky Dean-Walker of Hudspeth County told The A.P. that these cases are usually resolved by a no-contest plea and a mailed-in fine of up to $500.

That wasn’t quite what happened when Mr. Nelson was stopped there on Nov. 26, 2010, and a similar search of his bus turned up about six ounces of marijuana. Kit Bramblett, a local prosecutor, said initially that Mr. Nelson could pay his debt to society with a small fine and by appearing in court to sing “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” But Judge Becky Dean-Walker quickly shot down the proposed plea deal, calling it a joke that “got out of hand.” As recently as last July Mr. Bramblett and Judge Dean-Walker were still at odds about an appropriate penalty for Mr. Nelson; the final disposition of the case was not immediately clear.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...willie-nelson/