How Many Times Was Chuck Berry Arrested & Why?

Lauren Novak October 10, 2024

American singer and songwriter Chuck Berry (1926 - 2017) in London, UK, 28th May 1964 — Terry Fincher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Chuck Berry was known for being a pioneer in the world of rock ‘n’ roll, with early hits like “Johnny B. Goode,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Sweet Little Sixteen.” But while he was a great rock ‘n’ roll model — an impressive guitarist, singer and songwriter, known for his energetic live performances — he wasn’t always such a great role model in real life. Many people may not realize that Berry was arrested and served multiple stints in prison.

What were the crimes of Chuck Berry?

1944: Armed Robbery

Berry was arrested for armed robbery in St. Louis, Missouri, when he was around 18 or 19 years old. He reportedly hijacked a car at gunpoint and then robbed a gas station and convenience store before he was caught by police. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but was released after serving 18 months. After his release, he continued pursuing a musical career.

American rock 'n' roll singer, songwriter and guitarist Charles 'Chuck' Berry, one of the biggest influences on pre-Beatles pop

Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

1956: Violation of the Mann Act

In perhaps the most infamous of his crimes, he was arrested in 1956 at the height of his musical career for taking a 14-year-old girl from Missouri to Illinois under questionable circumstances. He reportedly met the young girl while out to lunch. She told him she was 21, and he invited her to work as a hostess at his nightclub, Club Bandstand.

Singer Chuck Berry performs at the 'Les Legendes Du Rock and Roll' concert at the Zenith on November 14, 2008 in Paris, France

Francois Durand/Getty Images

The Mann Act prohibited the transportation of women across state lines for immoral purposes. Again he was sentenced to three years in prison, but only served 20 months.

1979: Tax Evasion

In 1979, Berry was sentenced to four months in jail, a fine and community service for tax evasion. He was convicted of failing to pay federal income taxes and often struggled with financial management over the years.

1987: Assault & Battery

In 1987, he was charged with assaulting a woman during an altercation at New York’s Gramercy Park Hotel. He ended up pleading guilty to a charge of harassment and paid a $250 fine.

GO, JOHNNY, GO!, Chuck Berry, Alan Freed (on drums), 1958

Everett Collection

1990s: Peeping Chuck?

In 1990, he was sued by several women who said that he put cameras in the women’s bathroom at his restaurant, The Southern Air. He claimed that he was trying to catch a worker stealing from the restaurant but ultimately opted for a class action settlement that reportedly cost him $1.2 million plus legal fees. Later that same decade, there was a police raid on his house that found marijuana and intimate videos of women, including a minor. He was charged with a six-month suspended jail sentence, two years of unsupervised probation and had to donate $5,000 to a local hospital.

Berry died on March 18, 2017, at 90.