James Brown

Michael Ochs Archives

The Godfather of Soul's criminal career got off to an early start when he was arrested for armed robbery at 16 and served three years in a reform school. Decades later, Brown would repeatedly find trouble, mainly for drug, weapon and domestic violence offenses. His most notable indiscretion came when he brandished a shotgun in his office, angered that someone was using his bathroom without permission. The police were called and set up a roadblock nearby that Brown drove through, and he led cops on a chase that went from Georgia to South Carolina and back. He eventually crashed into a ditch after the tires on his pickup were shot out. He served three years for a combination of weapon and assault charges.