Rapper Rick Ross has been arrested in Miami in connection with an alleged domestic violence incident at his Star Island mansion. The musician, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts II, faces charges of battery by strangulation and battery.
Ross voluntarily surrendered to detectives at Miami Beach Police headquarters on Thursday before being taken into custody. He was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 6.10am, police said.
The 50-year-old was later released on bail after appearing by video link at a Miami-Dade bond hearing. His bond was set at $5,000 in total: $4,000 for the felony strangulation charge and $1,000 for the misdemeanour battery charge.
Allegations in the Rick Ross arrest report
The charges relate to an alleged incident on August 28, which was reported to police on September 29. The arrest affidavit states that Ross and the woman had been in a relationship for about a year and were living together at the time.
The woman told investigators she was woken at about 7.44am after Ross became angry about her being tagged in an Instagram photograph. Police allege that he questioned whether she was lying to him before slapping her in the face.
Later that morning, the woman said Ross accused her of being involved with someone else while she was in a bathroom. She alleged that he struck her in the chest several times and restricted her breathing by grabbing and twisting the collar of her hoodie.
The affidavit further alleges that Ross pulled the woman by her ponytail and slammed her against a wall before hitting her in the face, causing a split lip. It states that he then pushed her to the floor, turned on the shower and tried to spray her with the shower head.
According to the report, the woman eventually left the bathroom, collected her belongings and departed the property after Ross had left. She later gave detectives a sworn statement and photographs of injuries bearing timestamps, police said.
Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage which they said showed a friend arriving to collect the woman and being turned away. The affidavit states that Ross later posted an Instagram photograph showing the friend arriving at the property.
Rick Ross denies allegations
Ross’s lawyer, Bradley Horenstein, denied the allegations and said the rapper was innocent.
“All I can say is that the allegations are false. He’s innocent. Everything is going to come out,” Horenstein told CBS News Miami. “We just ask that you allow the process to play out before rushing to judgment, because the truth will come in.”
During the bond hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer said she had reviewed the arrest report and found probable cause in the case. She ordered Ross to have no direct or indirect contact with the alleged victim, including through third parties, social media or other electronic means.
Ross was also ordered to stay away from the woman’s home, workplace and school. He must surrender any firearms and concealed weapons, is barred from possessing firearms and was ordered not to engage in criminal activity or use illegal drugs while the case is pending.
His arraignment is scheduled for October 22. Ross, a Miami-area native known for songs including “Hustlin’”, has been a prominent figure in hip-hop for two decades.
