Zac Brown Says He Was ‘in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time’ During Palm Beach Drug Bust
Zac Brown has issued a statement in response to reports that he was in a Palm Beach, Fla., hotel room during a drug bust early Friday morning (April 8).
"My dad always said nothing good ever happens when you stay out late," Brown writes on his band's Facebook page. "It’s a lesson I learned the hard way last week, being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The Zac Brown Band frontman explains that he "attended a private gathering ... and had only been there for a short time when police officers arrived and arrested two people in the room who had just showed up a few minutes before.
"I did not know these people and had no idea that there were drugs in their possession," Brown says. "I cooperated fully with the authorities and am not part of any ongoing police investigation."
According to police reports obtained by RadarOnline, four people were arrested at the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach following a call to local police around 2:30AM about a suspicious vehicle. When police arrived, they found the vehicle's driver, Noel Andres Perez Delgado, waiting for his two female passengers to return. When police searched the car, they discovered numerous small bags of cocaine; Delgado was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell.
When police went into the hotel to find Delgado's two passengers, "[h]otel security followed us to the room and stated the hotel had received noise complaints from that room,” the police report says. They arrested Chanel Martinez Lugo and Katia Hernandez, Delgado's passengers, and charged them both with possession of cocaine. Also arrested was Dale Gary Ledbetter; he was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Although Brown is not mentioned in the Palm Beach Police Department's arrest report for the incident, his name does appear at the bottom of the computer-aided dispatch report, which recounts related radio transmissions. Palm Beach Police Captain Curtis Krauel tells the Palm Beach Post that Brown's inclusion in the CAD report means that "an officer encountered Brown during that call" and then ran his name; however, Krauel adds, "We have no indication that Zac Brown was involved in any criminal investigation, and that’s why he wasn’t in the police report."
"Everyone is responsible for their actions, and I regret using poor judgment and putting myself in that position," the singer concludes. "I am focused on continuing to make great music for my fans, and on representing my family and community well with our philanthropic work. And next time I'll make sure to remember what my dad taught me."