Rapper Rick Ross was arrested in Miami Beach on Thursday and charged with felony battery by strangulation and misdemeanor domestic violence, according to police and court records.
Ross, 50, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts, was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in west Miami-Dade on Thursday morning. Jail records cited by local outlets put the booking at about 6:10 a.m.
Rick Ross Arrested on Domestic Violence
He appeared in Miami-Dade court later that morning with his attorney, who entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Bond was set at $6,000 total — $5,000 on the strangulation charge and $1,000 on the domestic-violence charge. An arraignment has been reported for Oct. 22.
Police said the alleged incident occurred on Aug. 28 at a home on Star Island, an exclusive Miami Beach neighborhood, and was reported to authorities days later. Ross turned himself in to Miami Beach police, according to multiple reports.
According to the arrest report as described by local media, the complainant told officers that Ross became enraged over an Instagram photo in which she was tagged. She said he slapped her in the face each time she denied wrongdoing, hit her, and struck her in the chest several times until she could not breathe. She also told police he grabbed her ponytail and slammed her head into the ground.
Other local reporting added further allegations from the police account: that Ross twisted the collar of her hoodie and restricted her breathing, slammed her against a wall, and left her with a busted lip. The Sun Sentinel reported that she was identified to police as his live-in girlfriend of more than a year, that she gave a sworn statement and showed photos of injuries, and that investigators reviewed surveillance footage from the residence. Authorities have not publicly released the complainant’s name in the primary arrest accounts.
In court, Ross’s attorney asked that his release be expedited, noting that he is a celebrity and was being held in a red jumpsuit for his safety. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer replied that she did not know who he was beyond the case before her and that he would be treated fairly, like everyone else.
The arrest came days after model and influencer Jazzma Kendrick, described in entertainment coverage as Ross’s former girlfriend, posted on Instagram that he had hit her and “busted” her lip, and that she had left him. Some outlets have noted the timing; police reports summarized so far do not publicly confirm that she is the complainant in the criminal case.
Ross rose to national prominence in 2006 with Port of Miami and the single “Hustlin’,” and is widely credited with helping put Miami back at the center of mainstream rap. Through his Maybach Music Group label he helped launch the careers of Meek Mill and Wale. He is a multiple Grammy nominee. His representatives had not issued a detailed public response in the earliest reports on the arrest.
The charges are allegations. Ross has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise.
