Country Star Says She Almost Went to Prison After Misdemeanor Charge: ‘I Got in This Mess'
Emily Ann Roberts says she almost went to prison after unknowingly driving with a suspended driver's licence for more than a year.
The country music star and former runner-up of Season 9's The Voice, 27, shared the story in a series of Instagram videos posted on Friday, June 5, revealing how she ended up in court after being charged with a misdemeanor.
"I never told this story about the time I got a misdemeanor and almost went to prison," Roberts said.
The Knoxville, Tennessee, native explained that the ordeal began about three years ago when she got pulled over for expired tags - something she admits she often overlooks because her father used to handle it.
"‘I literally don't know,'" Roberts recalled telling the officer.
Roberts added that the situation in which she gets stopped for expired tags "has happened about six or seven times at this point, but this time around, the officer said that if you go get your tags renewed, drive down by the police department, show them your renewed tags, you don't have to pay this ticket. It will just wash it clean."
Roberts said that she followed those instructions and "never thought about it again."
A year went by, and Roberts began receiving calls from an unrecognizable number that even called her husband, Chris Sasser, who answered and learned that a collection agency was trying to reach her. When she finally returned the calls, she said they notified her that she had an "Outstanding ticket that hasn't been paid."
"It was over $300," Roberts said, adding that while she paid the fine over the phone, her father thought "That it was a scam."
"Turns out it wasn't a scam," she said before finishing her story in her third uploaded video. "Then, one night, I was driving home from a meeting, late at night, all by myself. I'm on the phone with my daddy, and I see the blue lights in my rear view, and I'm like, ‘Ugh. They're pulling me over because I have my phone in my hand….'"
"‘He said, ‘your tags are expired…do you think the registration is in your car and you forgot to put the sticker on?' I was like, ‘Maybe,'" she continued. "I look in my glove box, and then I open up my middle console, and my husband's gun is in there …"
Afterward, the police officer left to run Roberts' licence information, and then informed her that she was driving with a "suspended licence" for over a year. Under Tennessee law, driving with a suspended license can result in arrest and additional legal consequences, depending on the circumstances of the offense.
"‘You've been driving illegally for over a year,' he said, ‘Unfortunately, this is a misdemeanor, and you have to go to court,'" Roberts explained.
The next day, Roberts canceled her co-write and headed to the DMV to have her license reinstated.
"I got in this mess literally three years ago, and they told me, ‘If you take proof of your reinstated licence to the court, then you don't have to go to your court date, you can go to general sessions court," she explained. "So I went, and they gave me a time to go to the general sessions court."
Fortunately, Roberts said the issue was resolved after the judge told her she was "free to go," and she learned a valuable lesson.
"I have always gotten my tags renewed," she said, "because I do not want to go to court and I do not want to go to prison."
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 2:43 PM.