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On July 5, 1975, Rolling Stones' guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood were taking a leisurely road trip from Memphis to Dallas through Arkansas when their rented Chevy Impala was pulled over by police in Fordyce.  The cops charged Richards with reckless driving and carrying a hunting knife, and impounded the vehicle after smelling marijuana. A search produced two grams of cocaine in the briefcase of another passenger, Fred Sessler, who was also arrested.
Richards and Sessler posted bonds (Keith's was $162.50) and, along with Wood, continued their ride south. Richards never came back as required and was convicted.
Enter Gov. Mike Huckabee - former Baptist pastor and Rolling Stones fan.
"I was a college student when it happened, and I was so embarrassed," the Republican frontrunner recalls. "I thought 'Golly, we finally got the Rolling Stones in Arkansas, and what do we do?'"
Thirty years after the bust, the Stones played Little Rock on March 9, 2006. Huckabee was there and went backstage where he met Richards, who reminded the governor of the incident.
"I'm having this conversation with Keith, and he's telling me that he'd been in Arkansas before," Hucakbee says. "And I said, 'Keith, I can pardon you and get that off your record. You can have a clean start in Arkansas.'"
Huckabee did just that in November 2006, pardoning Richards of the driving conviction.
Which is certainly a case of the ex-preacher having sympathy for the devil.
Pics: Cool Keith and Huckabee on bass
Also see:
For Keith, how Swede it isn't
Ronnie Wood takes a hit
Get stoned and see the Stones
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