Rapper DMX arrested for drugs, animal cruelty
By BOB CHRISTIE,
AP
Posted: 2008-05-09 16:40:18
PHOENIX (AP) - DMX was arrested on drug and animal-cruelty
charges following an overnight raid on the rapper's house Friday,
authorities said.
The 37-year-old rapper, whose given name is Earl Simmons,
initially tried to barricade himself in his bedroom but emerged
when a SWAT team entered his north Phoenix home during the 3 a.m.
raid, sheriff's spokesman Capt. Paul Chagolla said.
The arrest and search warrants stemmed from indictments for
felony drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. He
made an initial court appearance Friday where bail was sent at
$7,500, said his local attorney, Cameron Morgan. Morgan said he
expected bail to be posted quickly.
The indictment stems from an August search of the rapper's home
prompted by reports of dogs being abused on his property.
Detectives seized 12 pit bull dogs, dug up remains of three others
and found marijuana on the rural property.
During Friday's raid, officials said more drugs were found and
weapons seized and additional charges were possible.
Simmons' New York lawyer, Murray Richman, said he told his
client to expect such a raid after his efforts to make DMX
available to law enforcement were rebuffed.
"I anticipated it, I explained to my client what was going to
happen," Richman said. He said he believed evidence did not
support the charges of animal cruelty, which has been a major focus
of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
"I think that the animal cruelty is not going to be able to be
established," Richman said, "and I think that this is Sheriff
Joe's moment."
A statement from Arpaio said someone of DMX means "has no
excuse for not providing proper care for his animals."
Sheriff's deputies made a series of visits to the rapper's home
in August after receiving reports of neglected pit bulls. They
found a caretaker who had been hired to look after the animals.
Richman said DMX was not in Arizona in the weeks leading up to
the initial raid.
The rapper has had previous run-ins with the law, including an
arrest Tuesday by the Arizona Department of Public Safety after
speed-enforcement cameras captured him going 114 mph on a suburban
Phoenix freeway.
In June 2006, Scottsdale police cited him for carrying a
concealed handgun outside a nightclub.
He also served 70 days in jail in 2005 for violating his parole
following a 2004 incident in which he posed as an undercover
federal agent and crashed his sport utility vehicle through a
security gate at Kennedy International Airport.
DMX recorded the 1999 hit single "Party Up (Up in Here)." His
last album, "Year of the Dog ... Again," was released last year.
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05/09/08 16:39 EDT
