INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Chumlee Arrest Update: Court Date Scheduled, 20 Felony Charges Loom

By Effie Orfanides
Published on: 03:00 PST, Mar 23, 2016

Chumlee of Pawn Stars fame was arrested at his home in Las Vegas on March 9. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, police had obtained a search warrant to enter Chumlee’s home after an unidentified woman claimed that the reality star sexually assaulted her. While investigators didn’t find any immediate evidence supporting those claims, they did find several other illegal things, including drugs and guns, which led to Chumlee’s arrest.

According to the Associated Press, “police seized a small arsenal of guns, a gallon plastic bag containing marijuana, multiple doses of anxiety medication and a small amount of methamphetamine” from Chumlee’s (real name Austin Lee Russell) home.”

Chumlee has not publicly addressed his arrest in which he faces 20 different felony charges related to drugs and weapons. He has, however, obtained legal representation. Chumlee intends to fight these charges, and his lawyers say that they are “looking forward” to resolving this case.

“We will be analyzing what was allegedly found and whether the alleged seizure was lawful,” said attorneys Richard Schonfeld and David Chesnoff.

Chumlee reportedly didn’t want police going through the vaults that he had in his home, but authorities informed him that they had a warrant that allowed them to search everywhere in the home. The copious amounts of drugs found were easily explained by the Pawn Star, who told cops he “smokes a lot of weed.”

However, the way in which the drugs were stored led police to believe that Chumlee may have been dealing drugs. The weapons that they found were another story entirely. Only four of the 12 guns seized by police were registered to Mr. Russell.

“Police said 12 guns were seized, ranging from handguns to a shotgun and assault-style MP5 and.223-caliber rifles. Four of the handguns were registered to Russell, the report said. Most of the weapons were found in a bedroom vault safe, along with 17 multi-dose ‘bars’ of the anxiety drug Xanax and seven capsules containing small amounts of methamphetamine, police said. One loaded.45-caliber handgun was found in a master bedroom nightstand drawer, the report said.”

Chumlee’s fate on Pawn Stars has yet to be discussed by the network. The History Channel has declined to comment on the legal issues of Mr. Russell and has not said whether or not he will remain on the show, which he has been a part of since the very beginning — 12 seasons ago — along with Rick Harrison, “Old Man” Richard Harrison, and Corey Harrison.

Chumlee works as an appraiser at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. It is speculated that any convictions would end Chumlee’s time on Pawn Stars. The only person to speak out on Chumlee’s arrest is Rick Harrison.

“We don’t have details yet, but we are here to help Chumlee any way we can,” Rick said shortly after Chumlee’s arrest according to Fox411.

It is unknown if he has since received those details or if he plans on making a move as far as firing Chumlee from the pawnshop.

Chumlee is due in court on May 23. It is unclear what kind of consequences he faces, but he may find himself in jail if convicted on many of these charges. The sexual assault case is still open, but Chumlee has yet to be charged.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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