Jelly Roll Declares Himself the 'Worst Criminal Ever' While Recalling an Attempt to Outrun the Cops

Jelly Roll admits that he is far more successful now as a country music star than he ever was as a criminal.

The “Son of a Sinner” singer has spoken often about dealing drugs and getting arrested in his youth, and has even spoken before members of Congress in support of anti-fentanyl legislation now that those days are behind him. But as Jelly Roll, who was born Jason DeFord, demonstrated during a Wed., June 12 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, he is still able to joke about the more humorous moments from that time in his life.

In a clip of the conversation that Jelly Roll had with radio host Howard Stern, the “Wild Ones” singer acknowledged that his previous life in crime used to give him a sense of “purpose” when he was young and feeling overlooked by other people his age. Stern, 70, then suggested Jelly Roll, 39, “must’ve been the worst drug dealer, because you got busted like 47 times.”

The two-time Grammy-nominated artist laughed in agreement. “I was so bad,” he said. “I was the worst criminal ever.”

When Stern asked how the police managed to catch Jelly Roll so frequently, the “Need a Favor” singer explained that his success in running from the cops was “zero in 20.” To paint a picture of why that was the case, Jelly Roll shared a memory of a time when he was on Xanax at age 15 and the car he was riding in was pulled over by a police officer.

“In my mind, when the police pulled us over, I was like, ‘I’m just gonna run,’” he recalled. “So I opened the door, and in my mind, I jumped out and sprinted across the field and almost made it.” In reality, Jelly Roll said he only managed to take about two steps out of the car before he fell over, at which point the officer “laid on top of me” to prevent Jelly Roll from getting up and reattempting his dash away from the scene.

“He felt so bad for me, he didn’t even charge me for trying to run,” Jelly Roll said with a laugh.

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