Ree Drummond’s Foster Son Avoids Jail After Drug and Assault Case as Earlier Arrests Resurface

Jamar Goff, the foster son of Food Network star Ree Drummond, has avoided further jail time after pleading guilty in an Alabama drug possession and assault case.

Goff, 23, appeared in court on November 4, 2026, where he received a 48-month suspended sentence for second-degree assault and a separate 24-month suspended sentence for unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Instead of serving those sentences behind bars, he was placed on 12 months of supervised probation and ordered to undergo a substance-abuse evaluation and random drug testing. He was also prohibited from entering the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus.

Court records reported by USA Today indicate that Goff pleaded guilty to the two charges in exchange for prosecutors dropping additional charges involving attempting to elude police and possessing drug paraphernalia. He was released from custody following the sentencing.

The case dates back to September, when university police encountered Goff near a fountain on the UAB campus. According to court documents, officers initially responded to a report of a suspicious person and found him shirtless and apparently asleep.

Goff allegedly told an officer he was waiting for someone to sell him “ice,” a street name for methamphetamine. Police later discovered he had an outstanding warrant. When officers attempted to detain him, he allegedly ran away and struck a female officer during the encounter.

Authorities said they subsequently found a glass pipe and approximately 1.8 grams of suspected methamphetamine. He was arrested and initially held on a $37,000 bond.

The latest case is not his first encounter with the law. In May 2025, Goff was arrested following allegations that he bit a detention or correctional officer’s hand. He also faced a domestic-violence allegation involving a former partner that year, and a protective order was reportedly granted.

Goff became part of Ree Drummond and her husband Ladd’s family in 2018, when they welcomed him as their foster son. He had become close to their sons through football, and Drummond previously wrote warmly about him in her book, describing him as a bright and talented young man.

In a birthday tribute shared in 2023, the television personality expressed her love for Goff and said she looked forward to seeing what his future would bring.

Drummond has not publicly commented on his latest legal troubles. Court records also indicate that Goff’s probation may be transferred to Oklahoma, while his current residence was listed as a sober-living home in reporting by USA Today.

Although the suspended sentences mean he will not serve additional jail time at this stage, he must comply with the conditions of his probation and the court’s treatment requirements.