Sara Evans’ husband, Jay Barker, was arrested in Nashville on Saturday morning (January 15) and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is said to have tried to run over Evans with his vehicle.
He was held for 12 hours on charges of domestic violence late Saturday afternoon.
The 49-year-old former college football player is currently a lunchtime host on Tide 100.9, a Townsquare media station. The Tide Station reports that his bail was set at $10,000.
CBS-42 in Birmingham, Alabama, revealed the affidavit of Barker’s arrest, showing the incident took place after 1 a.m. Evans is said to have been in the passenger seat of a friend’s vehicle and left a party at a neighbor’s house. She reportedly saw Barker “reverse his vehicle at high speed and tried to hit her.”
Barker drove off but returned and spoke to cops. Other witnesses also say Barker tried to hit Evans and her friend.
The affidavit states that the couple is currently separated. According to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, Barker was booked just after 4 a.m. Saturday morning. He is listed under his full name, Harry Jerome Barker.
Barker and Evans have been married since 2008 and together they have raised a blended family of children from their respective previous relationships. Barker’s son Braxton plays football at the University of Alabama while his other son Harrison plays at UAB and his daughter Sarah plays basketball at the University of Georgia.
Neither Barker nor Evans have said anything about Barker’s arrest on their respective social media pages. Evans toured extensively in 2021, ending with a Christmas tour. According to her website, her next scheduled show is Thursday (January 20) in Orlando.
Evans’ romance and marriage to Barker is a big part of her 2020 memoir, Born to Fly. The relationship began shortly after her controversial divorce from Craig Schelske (2006), with whom she had three children. Daughter Olivia released new music earlier this year, while Evan’s son Jack is also a musician and producer.
Barker led the University of Alabama to a national championship as quarterback in 1992. According to the Tennessean, he remains the school’s winningest quarterback at 35-2-1.
*To update: 20:46 CT – This story has been updated to reflect new information from the affidavit.
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