DMX was arrested on Wednesday morning (July 2) in Arizona on a bond violation as soon as he stepped off a plane
According to his longtime lawyer, Murray Richman, the troubled rapper (born Earl Simmons) knew that as soon as he touched down in his home state for a court hearing on a previous case, he would be arrested. He now faces the prospect of spending several months in an Arizona jail as he awaits his next court date, and possibly more time after that.
"He was supposed to be in court today in Arizona, but he was picked up as soon as he arrived," Richman said. "The arrest was a result of him being arrested in Florida. That arrest violated the strict conditions of his $7,500 bond in Arizona, which stated that he could not be arrested while on bail."
DMX was arrested in Miami on June 27 for allegedly trying to buy cocaine and marijuana, just days after his arrest in Florida for driving without a valid driver's license.
TMZ reported that the rapper was taken into custody as he was disembarking from his flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sheriff Joe Arpaio — known as "America's Toughest Sheriff," and the man who recently took away a pair of honorary badges from basketball great Shaquille O'Neal following Shaq's verbal put-down of ex-teammate Kobe Bryant — reportedly told TMZ that X "never learns his lesson" and that he hopes to keep the rapper in jail.
The case DMX was returning to Arizona to face stemmed from an arrest in May on charges of animal cruelty and drug possession, and was one that Murray said he was confident he could win on behalf of the rapper, who has been his client for nearly a decade. The attorney said he was disappointed in the latest turn of events, especially since DMX will have to sit in jail until the animal cruelty case is heard, which could be several months or more.
"I believed that we had a good, viable defense in that [animal cruelty] case, but I'm sorry to say that Earl played into their hands when he got arrested for driving without a license and for being in a drug-prone area, which violated the terms of his bail," Richman said. "It's very upsetting after eight years of working and trying to keep him out of trouble to have him get caught up for this nonsense. He took a situation that is a win, and we will win, and it places us in a precarious situation."
Richman said DMX had been informed before he boarded the flight that he was going to be arrested in Arizona, but that he knew he had to "take it like a man and face up to it. He can't keep running."
See Also
