Nelly has reportedly been arrested for possession of ecstasy pills and being without insurance.
According to NBC News Nelly, real name Cornell Haynes II, was arrested in Maryland Heights, a suburb of St. Louis in the US state of Missouri, on Wednesday (August 7) at 4:45am.
The rapper was taken to the Maryland Heights Police Department by the state patrol, where he was arrested on a failure-to-appear warrant stemming from a traffic charge in the suburb. He was also charged with possession of four ecstasy pills — a controlled substance — and being without insurance.
Nelly has since been released, according to state patrol records.
Scott Rosenblum, a lawyer for Nelly, has addressed the charges in a statement which denies the drug possession charge. Rosenblum said: “[Nelly] was arrested for ‘No Proof of Insurance’ from 2018 on a warrant issued December 2023 that he received no notice.”
The statement says Nelly was “targeted by an overzealous, out of line officer,” who issued a background check after Nelly won a certain amount at a casino — where he was arrested. According to Rosenblum, Nelly has not previously had to undergo a background check when he has won “similar or greater amounts” at the same venue.
He said the officer handcuffed Nelly “and parade[d] him through the casino,” and then “conducted a search without probable cause where he claimed to have found alleged ‘ecstasy,'” in Nelly’s personal items.
Rosenblum said Nelly is “regularly asked to supply proof of no warrants. Including FBI checks,” as a requirement to travel internationally. He went on to say that, “There were none.”
“I am 100 per cent confident this case will go nowhere,” Rosenblum continued. “And we will be asking for an inquiry into this officer’s conduct.”
In other news, Nelly just wrapped up his support slot on Janet Jackson‘s ‘Together Again’ tour.
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