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Chumlee Arrest Update: What’s Really In Store For Austin Russell of ‘Pawn Stars’?

By Merry Strong
Published on: 15:27 PST, Apr 14, 2016

When Chumlee, of Pawn Stars fame, was arrested on March 9, saying the majority of his fans were shocked is an understatement. And, at this stage of the game, no one is really sure what’s in store for 33-year-old Austin Russell.

As previously reported by Inquisitr, Chumlee was taken into custody after law enforcement officials found drugs and weapons in the reality star’s home during an alleged sexual assault investigation. At first, no information was released regarding the woman who made the assault accusations. Information later surfaced, however, indicating the victim was a former Pawn Stars employee.

If all of the drug charges stick, Chumlee could be facing up to 80 years in prison. Additional time is possible, if the (once) Pawn Stars favorite is found guilty of sexual assault.

Austin Russell, along with his family and friends, have been extremely quiet since the incident occurred. This includes his longtime girlfriend, Tanya Hyjazi. She hasn’t made a statement, in regard to his guilt or to his innocence. No one even knows if the two are still dating. Everything is very hush-hush.

It’s interesting to note, Chumlee was the one who paid for Hyjazi’s breast implants. The somewhat unusual gesture was actually a birthday gift. He said this about his generosity.

“She wanted a boob job and she was going to pay it herself but she works so hard. She’s a chef for a major casino. I thought to myself, it literally takes me a couple hours of work to buy a boob job so why would I make her pay for them. She had her money saved up and I just felt it was the right thing to do. That’s a good birthday present, right?”

Getting back to Chumlee’s legal mess, the Morning Ledger indicates concerns were raised (after the raid) as to whether or not Russell was actively dealing drugs. Along with varying amounts of meth, marijuana and Xanax, police confiscated plastic bags, digital scales and other drug-related paraphernalia commonly associated with drug dealers.

When questioned, Chumlee adamantly insisted he buys in bulk for the “sake of convenience.” Does that mean the Pawn Stars fav was working so much overtime at Gold & Silver Pawn Shop he had to limit his trips to stock up on his weed supply?
Chumlee hired two lawyers to represent him. Richard Schonfield and David Chessnoff are, of course, doing their best to see that Austin Russell is treated fairly in this matter. They go on to say their famous client has “great faith in the judicial system.” Unfortunately, only time will tell what’s in store for Chumlee and the rest of the Pawn Stars gang.

In a separate Inquisitr report, Nevada criminal defense attorney, Joel Mann, weighed in on the fact the charges against Chum are rather unusual. He made the following statement.

“Typically you have maybe three or four counts of drug possession. Usually it is different types of drugs that you get the different types of possession. I am not sure how he got charged with 19 counts of drug possession. That does seem unusual to me.”

There has been no official word from the History Channel, when it comes to the fate of Pawn Stars. No one knows if Season 13 will happen, or if the show has seen better days — just like Chumlee.

Have you been following Chumlee’s story since his arrest? How do you feel about the whole situation? If he doesn’t do any prison time, do you think he’ll be able to pick up the pieces and live his life as if nothing happened? Do you think Chumlee’s association with Pawn Stars is officially over? Feel free to sound off below.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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