You’ve heard about Johnny Cash being busted for possession in El Paso after a night in Juarez. Have you heard the arresting officers account of how it happened?

Johnny Cash was/is a genuine American legend and he was a “rock star” before the term even existed, He was living up to the sex, drugs and rock n roll motif as rock ‘n roll was barely being born.

He did things his way, lived fast and raised a lot of hell. Don’t let that or his drug and alcohol issues fool you. At heart, he was a man of values, conviction and virtue.

Johnny Cash was everything you’d want to be. For a brief moment though, he was exactly what you wouldn’t want to be as his demons took control during a turbulent period in his life.

A Bad Decision

During that time, he made his ill-fated trip to Juarez where he bought a pistol, (later found to be an antique of some sort that didn’t even have all its pieces), and a ton … over a thousand by some accounts … of amphetamines. No joke now but especially not in 1965.

There have been people in the legal field in my family for decades and several were friends with the attorney who represented Cash. You’ve probably heard of him … Woodrow Bean. Based on things he was ethically able to divulge to them, this account of the actual arrest sounds right. I found it on Facebook:

How Was Johnny Cash Arrested?

According to a Facebook post by Barbara Given-Behne, Lee Bartlett was the son of the man who apprehended Johnny Cash as he sat on a plane waiting to leave El Paso. 

Her post, (it would seem), is what Lee said his Dad said. (Talk about he said, she said, he said, huh??) According to the “alleged” statement, Lee Bartlett’s Dad, Richard, got a tip saying Cash had drugs and a pistol on him. He got to the airport as the plane was boarding and boarded himself, with no backup, to get Cash.

When I saw Johnny Cash I drew my gun and badge because I wasn’t sure where his gun was and I told him that he was under arrest. I took Johnny Cash off the plane along with his guitar and traveling bag. When we got to a room at the airport I found the gun inside his bag. It was an old pistol like a collector would buy and it had been dismantled and was in pieces. I found the drugs which were over a thousand pills inside the hole of the guitar as well as inside his guitar case.

Bartlett, and everyone else I’ve ever heard talk/write about this mess, have said Cash was always polite and even apologetic for the issue. Officer Bartlett liked Cash well enough to agree to care for some of his personal effects while the court sorted things out. You can read the rest of Lee Bartlett’s statement here.

READ MORE: El Paso Sheriff Blackmailed Johnny Cash

What Happened To Johnny Cash?

Long story short, he was tried, convicted and sentenced. Following the arrest, his marriage dissolved and he fell deeper into drugs and alcohol. If that wasn’t bad enough, about 20 years later, an El Paso Sheriff’s Deputy tried to blackmail him.

Soon after that, June Carter came into his life and turned it around. She not only saved Cash from himself but also helped him change network television forever, grow as an artist and create a family and musical legacy that still resonates to this day.

June died first and Johnny followed a few months later in 2003.

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