Former lead singer of Bishop Gunn arrested for allegedly mailing an obscene image to a prison

Published 1:48 pm Monday, May 1, 2023

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VIDALIA, La. — A Natchez celebrity who once stood before thousands on stages across the United States and abroad as the lead singer of Bishop Gunn now sits behind bars without bond.

Law enforcement served a felony arrest warrant for Travis McCready, 35, on Saturday at his Natchez residence on charges of non-consensual disclosure of a private image, introducing contraband into a penal facility and obscenity.

The charges stem from a pornographic image that was allegedly mailed by McCready to a prison inmate in Concordia Parish last week.

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In this case, the obscene photo that was mailed to an inmate constitutes an introducing contraband charge, law officials said.

McCready last had a run-in with Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office during a traffic stop in February 2021, at which time he was initially charged with possessing drugs and multiple traffic infractions. McCready later pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and all other charges were dismissed, court records show.

With McCready as the lead singer, Bishop Gunn cruised to the top of the Billboard Blues Album chart in 2018 with their debut hit album called “Natchez.”

The band name itself was inspired by a tombstone that band members saw in Natchez over the resting place of the sixth Bishop of Natchez, John Edward Gunn.

Bishop Gunn toured in Europe with Slash after playing two cruises with Kid Rock and received multiple accolades from Rolling Stone Magazine’s top country charts.

The band broke up in February 2020, citing “internal issues” as the cause.

In 2021, the album “Gypsy Cadillac” — which had been recorded in 2019 and before — was released and quickly hit top spots on Apple Music in multiple genres.

McCready has done solo performances in Natchez and on other stages since.

All persons arrested in any case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.