Country singer Travis charged with being drunk in public

Singer Randy Travis arrives at the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada April 18, 2010.

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Grammy award-winning country singer Randy Travis was arrested and charged with public drunkenness on Monday in Sanger, Texas after police found him sitting in his truck, apparently intoxicated, in front of the First Baptist Church.

"An officer detected an odor of alcoholic beverage coming from the person, and he noticed an open bottle of wine in the passenger side of the vehicle," said Sanger Police Chief Curtis Amyx. "His speech was slurred and the officer had a hard time understanding what he was trying to stay."

Amyx said Travis was charged with public intoxication and was released after a couple of hours in the local jail.

He said Travis was parked when the officer spotted him, and he is not charged with drunken driving. Sanger is about an hour north of Dallas.

Travis, 52, is a six-time Grammy Award winner, and is one of the leading stars of country music. He has also been focusing on gospel music, and has won several Dove Awards. As an actor, Travis has appeared in a number of movies, and played a recurring character in the 1990s TV show "Touched by an Angel."

Travis is a North Carolina native, but he owns a ranch in Grayson County, Texas which is west of Sanger. Amyx said he didn't know why Travis -- who he described as cooperative -- was in Sanger.

Public intoxication is a misdemeanor which is punishable by a fine of up to $500.

(Editing by Paul Thomasch and Greg McCune)