Rick Ross has been arrested in Miami-Dade County and charged with battery after a former girlfriend alleged that he choked her during an argument fueled by jealousy.
Inmate records reviewed by Our News Outlet show that the rapper faces two domestic violence counts: battery and battery by strangulation.
Ross, 50, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts II, surrendered to authorities Thursday morning. His arrest came two days after his ex-girlfriend contacted police to report the alleged confrontation, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Our News Outlet.
He was booked at 6:10 a.m., photographed for a mugshot and entered not-guilty pleas to both charges. His bond was set at $5,000.
Attorneys Steve Sadow and Bradley Horenstein said Ross has been falsely accused by an ex-girlfriend whose motives, they argued, remain uncertain. “William Roberts II, professionally known as Rick Ross, is being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose true motivations are unclear,” they said in a statement carried by TMZ.
The lawyers also claimed that the woman waited a month after the alleged incident before filing a police report.
Our News Outlet has reached out to Ross’ representatives for comment.
Rick Ross was arrested and charged with battery in Miami-Dade County after an ex-girlfriend accused him of choking her during a jealous argument; he is pictured in his mugshot
Inmate records reviewed by Our News Outlet show that Ross faces domestic violence charges for battery and battery by strangulation
“Mr. Roberts is innocent and has pled not guilty to the charges. He respectfully requests that his friends, fans and the general public not prejudge the situation and allow the judicial process to run its course,” his attorneys said.
The arrest affidavit states that Ross’ former girlfriend placed the alleged domestic violence incident on the morning of August 28.
She told police that Ross woke her at approximately 7:44 a.m. and was “enraged” after seeing a photograph on social media in which she had reportedly been tagged.
According to the document, she alleged that Ross slapped her after questioning whether she had lied to him.
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The woman also said Ross accused her of being “in a relationship” with another person, whom she maintained was only a “friend,” the arrest record states.
She alleged that the dispute intensified when Ross struck her “several times” in the chest, twisted the collar of her hoodie and choked her until she could not breathe. She further accused him of grabbing her by the ponytail and slamming her against a wall, according to the affidavit.
The former girlfriend also claimed that he hit her while she was bent over, leaving her with a “busted lip,” and tried to spray her with water from a shower head.
Although she said she managed to “escape” the home, the affidavit states that she returned and remained there until Ross left. She then departed with her belongings.
Ross’ attorneys, Steve Sadow and Bradley Horenstein, said he was “being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose true motivations are unclear”
The arrest record says Ross and the woman had been romantically involved for about a year and were living together when the alleged incident occurred.
She reportedly gave police a sworn statement and submitted time-stamped photographs that she said showed the injuries she sustained, according to the affidavit.
According to Ross’ accuser, she called a friend to pick her up from the residence, but the friend was ‘turned away’ in a moment supposedly caught on CCTV.
Ross’ arrest comes nine years after he accepted a plea bargain in a highly-publicized kidnapping trial that saw him accused of holding a groundskeeper at gunpoint and pistol-whipping him at his Georgia compound, according to TMZ.
The Hustlin’ hitmaker pled no contest to one count of felony aggravated assault, and, having already spent a week in jail, received a sentence of time served.
Ross was also given a $10,000 fine, but was classified as a first-time felony offender, meaning that upon payment of the fee the conviction was wiped from his record.
He was further sentenced to 60 months’ probation on five misdemeanor convictions – one count each of assault, battery and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, plus two counts of pointing a pistol at someone.
