John McAfee is in the news again, and again for the wrong reasons. The cybersecurity whiz who created a virus scanning software of the same name was arrested in Tennessee on Sunday after being caught driving under the influence and for illegal gun possession, police say, according to the Daily mail.
While admitting to being under the influence of Xanax, McAfee said that it was a new prescription and he was not aware that it would impair his driving. "I had just that morning received a prescription for Xanax from a doctor. ... I'd never taken them before." McAfee said, according to CNBC. McAfee further clarified that his phone fell between his seat and the console of the car he was driving, and as he was digging to retrieve it, his driving became erratic.
A highway patrol officer pulled him over. "The arresting officer decided that I needed a blood test, which I agreed to," McAfee said.
Reacting to allegations of illegal gun possession, McAfee added that he is the legal owner of the gun found in his car, adding that his only crime was possessing it while intoxicated, which he said was not intentional. "I always carry a weapon, and if you are not impaired in the state of Tennessee it is not illegal to have weapons in the car. So we'll just have to wait and see what the judge says about that," McAfee said, CNBC reported.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol arrested McAfee, said Sheila Austin, warrants clerk for the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, confirming the incident. "I don't know why he would move to a little town like ours," she said, according to CNN Money.
McAfee was later released on $5,000 bond.
McAfee's past has been turbulent. The self-described "wealthy eccentric" lost most of his $100 million fortune in the 2008 market crash, and he sold his McAfee antivirus software company to Intel in 2010, which later rebranded it to Intel security.
While living in Belize in 2012, McAfee came under the police scanner when his neighbor was found murdered. He fled the country, claiming innocence. He now has a company called Future Tense Secure Systems.
