Why was Wes Scantlin arrested? Puddle of Mudd frontman allegedly pepper-sprayed by police during traffic stop

Authorities took Puddle of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin into custody after a traffic stop standoff with the police. As per TMZ, law enforcement pulled the rocker over in Burbank, California, for a traffic violation on Wednesday, July 31. However, the singer had an outstanding warrant from a previous case.

This led the police to request Scantlin to get out of the car, but the singer declined multiple times, even after law enforcement sought the services of a crisis negotiator. In the end, a SWAT team had to break open the singer's window and shoot non-lethal pepper balls to get him to surrender.

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Wes Scantlin has multiple arrests under his name

Puddle of Mudd's Wes Scantlin got into trouble with the law on Wednesday, July 31. According to TMZ, Scantlin's black Hummer H2 was pulled over by the police for a simple traffic violation. However, when the singer was asked for his ID, officers got to know that he had an active warrant against him stemming from his allegedly carrying a gun at an airport.

Despite being asked to get out of his vehicle, the singer refused multiple times. Once the crisis negotiator's efforts were in vain, a SWAT team was brought in at 4 A.M. to pull him out. Law enforcement broke the singer's car window and shot him with non-lethal pepper balls before he exited the vehicle. Wes Scantlin had to be taken to the hospital to flush out his eyes but was left without serious injury.

According to the publication, the singer was jailed for his previous charge and an additional charge for resisting arrest. However, he has since been released with a court date set for August 20. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the singer was booked at 6:17 a.m. on Wednesday. However, this is not the singer's first brush with law enforcement.

In February of last year, Wes Scantlin was arrested in Hollywood on a misdemeanor trespassing charge and was held on a $1k bond before being released on his recognizance. The singer had allegedly shown up to an old Hollywood Hills home of his, which he lost due to foreclosure in 2015, and refused to leave the area.

The owner of the house, influencer, and founder and CEO of the Glamnetic beauty brand Ann McFerran posted a TikTok video showcasing a man, seemingly Scantlin, sitting in his Hummer while parked outside her home. McFerran wrote in her post,

"When you walk down your driveway to catch an Uber and find a stranger camped outside and then realize it’s a famous rock singer who had his house foreclosed on (and has been arrested several times before) and was coming back to claim the house so you have to call the police because he begins to threaten the maid you hired and then he gets arrested because turns out he has an active order against him."

As per Radar Online, Wes Scantlin was previously arrested for vandalism and trespassing charges in 2016 for showing up to the house and destroying property. The singer was later released on a $20k bond. A week before the arrest, Scantlin was arrested after being found in possession of a controlled substance by the LAPD.

In September 2017, Wes Scantlin was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport after he tried boarding a plane while in possession of a BB gun, for which he pleaded no contest. In 2015, he was arrested at the Denver airport after going on a baggage carousel joyride. The singer was also arrested and charged with public intoxication in 2012 after an altercation with a flight attendant.