The Celebrity Truth

Following an investigation spanning almost seven months, rapper DMX has been formally indicted on seven misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and four felony drug possession charges, according to the Maricopa County sheriff’s office.

The indictment follows the discovery of twelve malnourished pit bulls and a large weapons cache at DMX’s Cave Creek, Arizona, home in late August.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told MTV News at the time that the dogs "weren’t getting proper food, they weren’t getting proper water, and they were tied outside in 115-degree heat." Police also discovered the charred remains of at least one dog after digging up portions of DMX’s backyard.

Until now, DMX - whose real name is Earl Simmons - had not been charged with a single crime related to that incident. 

A search warrant for his home was executed just before 3am on Friday morning (May 9), during which detectives seized even more weapons and drugs, which led to the filing of an additional drug possession charge. Police also removed five pit bull puppies from the rapper’s home and took them to a nearby prison, where they will be cared for by female inmates.

"A guy like this DMX character, with all his money and fame, has no excuse for not providing proper care for his animals," Arpaio said in a press release about Friday’s arrest. "He has a long criminal history and obviously has little or no respect for the law."

DMX attempted to barricade himself in his bedroom when police arrived to detain him, according to police reports, but he was eventually talked into coming out and offered no further resistance. He was brought to a nearby jail where he was booked and processed.

District Attorney Andrew Thomas, who will be leading the prosecution against the rapper, said his office would "handle this case as we would any other indictment of alleged animal cruelty… A person’s celebrity status does not preclude this office from bringing charges."

This is the second time this week that DMX has been arrested - on Tuesday (May 6) he was charged with racing on a highway, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment and three counts of criminal speed, over an incident that occured January 21.

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Photo courtesy of Ruff Riders.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 10:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.