A Texas jury found so-called outlaw country singer Billy Joe Shaver not guilty today after a shooting outside a bar near Waco led to criminal charges of aggravated assault. Shaver, whose trial was attended by the great Willie Nelson, took the stand in his own defense, Statesman reports, claiming that the alleged victim, Billy Coker, threatened his life with a “folding, single-blade knife.”
Shaver testified in court that the prosecutor’s suggestion that he simply could’ve left the bar after Coker brandished the blade was ludicrous, as that would’ve been “chicken shit.” Was jealousy the motive (Coker was seen talking to Shaver’s wife, Wanda)?
“I get more women than a passenger train can haul,” Shaver insisted. “I’m not jealous.” In Shaver’s defense, Coker “was built like a doggone fireplug” and “went bad real quick” when the fact that Shaver’s wife had been previously married to Coker’s cousin came to light.
It’s a pretty crazy story (obvs), but either way: the subject of Bob Dylan’s latest shout-out is a free man tonight.