Los Lonely Boys bassist JoJo Garza Arrested
Saturday’s arrest of Los Lonely Boys bassist JoJo Garza at Austin’s Omni Hotel on charges of assaulting his fiancée and possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana came a year and seven months after the trio’s drummer, Ringo Garza, was arrested in San Angelo.
The 24-year-old Ringo was charged with possession of marijuana after a pair of 20-year-old women claimed that they were drugged and raped at his home.
The marijuana charge was dropped when Ringo’s wife, Lenore, claimed sole ownership of the pot, and the sexual assault charges were never filed by the district attorney’s office, yet the bad publicity marred the group’s fairytale rise to the top of the charges.
But they seemed to be over that, with a new album, a new tour and a new resolve. Los Boys were back and hungry for more. Then they were in the headlines for the wrong reason again, the week of the release of theirlong-awaited follow up.
Even though formal charges have yet to be brought against JoJo, with band representatives calling his arrest “all a misunderstanding,” the latest incident has given the affable band of brothers another black eye, just as “Sacred” is hitting the shelves.
The concept that someone is innocent until proven guilty doesn’t always carry over when the accused are celebrities. Even as JoJo’s fiancée stands by her man, saying the couple was only guilty of being loud, the sceptre of family violence hangs over the Garza family- at least for now.
Does this latest incident- whether true or not - influence the way you feel about Los Lonely Boys’ music? Do you think their reputation has been needlessly smeared by “completely unnecessary” police action, as the band’s attorney stated? Are you less likely to buy “Sacred” after hearing of the allegations? And can the brothers rebound, as they seemed to have done after charges against Ringo went away?
“Sacred” is expected to hit the top five of the Billboard album sales chart on Wednesday. The band will appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” Tuesday (July 25). But has their momentum been deflated?
