DMX gets arrested again in South Carolina

On behalf of Raymond Giudice P.C. posted in Criminal Defense and DUI Defense on Wednesday, November 6, 2013.

(CNN) – DMX may realize by now that South Carolina police know who he is and that he does not have a driver’s license.

The rapper – real name Earl Simmons – spent three hours in jail Monday night before posting bond on charges of driving with a suspended license, having no car tag or insurance, according to the Spartanburg County Detention Center website.

A police officer who was familiar with Simmons and his several recent arrests stopped him for questioning as he drove up to the front of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport Monday evening, airport spokeswoman Rosylin Weston told CNN affiliate WSPA.  The officer arrested him when he could not produce a valid license, she said.

It was his third run-in with the law in his home state in recent months, which included a citation for marijuana possession in Greer, South Carolina, in August.  He was arrested then when an officer recognized Simmons and knew there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest for failure to appear in court for a previous charge, according to the arrest report.

Simmons allegedly “became very aggressive with his words and was making multiple idle threats” when the officer questioned him about “a bag of green plant material I knew to be marijuana” near where he was sitting in a pickup truck, the report said.

He was also arrested in Greenville, South Carolina, on July 26 on charges of driving under the influence, driving without a license and driving without a seat belt, police said.  A state trooper stopped his 1978 Plymouth station wagon after he was allegedly “traveling erratically,” the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.  DMX was given a field sobriety test and failed, the agency said.

DMX has faced various criminal charges in the past, including probation violation, illegal drug possession and animal cruelty.

Hip-hop highs:  Long on lyrics, short on rehab

Maricopa County, Arizona, authorities said he was arrested five times after August 2007.  That included a May 2008 arrest on drug and animal cruelty charges, when Simmons attempted to barricade himself inside his Cave Creek home, sheriff’s deputies said.

Simmons also ran into trouble while in prison, being placed on”lockdown status” and forced to eat only bread and water for “jailhouse infractions.”  In February 2009, he threw a food tray in anger at a corrections officer, according to the sheriff’s office.

In 2010 he was sent to prison after violating his probation.  Four days later DMX was admitted to the Flamenco Mental Health unit for an undisclosed order.

But before the litany of arrests, DMX had a promising music and movie career.  He had a huge hit with “Party Up(Up in Here)” more than a decade ago, and he also appeared in such movies as “Romeo Must Die.”

A DMX publicist said the recent arrest will not derail his efforts to revive his career.

“He was arrested on minor traffic charges and spent only three hours in jail,” said representative Domenick Nati.  “This short arrest will not affect any of his upcoming concerts and he is planning on performing with Swizz Beatz on Wednesday’s Wendy Williams Show.”

SOURCE:  www.cnn.com,  “DMX gets arrested again in South Carolina,” Alan Duke, November 5, 2013.