Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007 | 7:27 a.m.
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS MORRIS
Tanya Tucker's latest sad country song may be her own.
A truck carrying $500,000 worth of her wardrobe and jewelry was stolen somewhere between Tennessee and Nevada.
The suspect last seen in possession of the goods? Her former fiance and longtime lover Jerry Laseter.
According to a Metro Police report filed late Tuesday:
On July 22 Laseter was driving a U-Haul truck in a caravan from Nashville to Las Vegas when he broke off from the group, which included Tucker, in Albuquerque and "continued on solo."
Laseter then allegedly contacted Tucker via text message and demanded money for gasoline, adding that if he did not get it, he would start selling stuff out of the truck. Tucker reportedly agreed to give Laseter $1,000 and two tickets back to Nashville.
On Friday, Laseter took the truck to Palace Station and left the keys with a bellman.
The following morning, an associate of Tucker's picked up the truck and drove it to the Hard Rock Hotel, where it was opened.
Inside - nothing. Except a note: "When you are trying to get someone over a barrel, make sure you got a strong barrel." It was punctuated with an expletive.
Don Grubbs, Tucker's publicist in Nashville, said he was unaware of the incident Wednesday morning and withheld comment. Tucker played in Primm on Saturday.
Laseter was arrested Saturday in the Las Vegas area and charged with felony theft. So was Chrislynn Jones, a woman police identified as a co-conspirator. They were released on $3,000 bail each.
The wardrobe and jewelry were recovered and returned to Tucker, Metro Police said.
According to a fan account of a 2006 concert in Primm, Tucker introduced Jones as a backup singer and introduced Laseter as Jones' boyfriend. Tucker reportedly explained Jones' relationship with Laseter by saying, "We like to keep it all in the family."
Tucker, 49, was born in Texas, but her family moved to Las Vegas in 1969, where she performed and picked up the nickname "Little Miss Cheatin' Heart." Tucker was 13 when she signed with Columbia Records and had her first hit, "Delta Dawn."
She attended Basic High School for a year and was on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1974, when she released "Would You Lay With Me (in a Field of Stone)" at age 15.
Tucker has released 25 albums in 33 years and had her fair share of No. 1 hits, including "Blood Red and Goin' Down," "One Love at a Time," "Strong Enough to Bend," and "If It Don't Come Easy."
It's one of her No. 2 hits, however, that might matter most now: "Highway Robbery."
This is not the first time Tucker and Laseter have made headlines.
The couple had a child, Layla LaCosta, in 1999. That same year, the Nashville Tennessean reported Tucker filed a domestic violence charge against the father.
In a 2004 interview with Larry King, Tucker said she gave back to Laseter a 10.10-carat diamond ring he had given her. The singer said Laseter was withholding their daughter and she was considering filing charges.
In 2005 the Tennessean reported Tucker applied for a protective order against Laseter, claiming that he harassed her before shows, grabbed her throat and gave her a black eye. The case is continued indefinitely, court officials said Wednesday.
Laseter is co-producer of Tucker's 2002 album "Tanya." He plays electric guitar in several songs on the album, including a few about love.
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