DMX Posts Bail After Latest Jail Stint

Rapper DMX posted $25,000 U.S. bail and was released from a Westchester County, N.Y. prison after being jailed for missing two court dates relating to misdemeanour traffic violations.

DMX (real name Earl Simmons) posted bail after spending the night of June 28 behind bars after missing a June 21 make-up court date. He claimed that he became ill while travelling from Arizona to New York. The hip-hop artist was originally supposed to appear in court on June 16, but was a no-show.

The missed court appearances stem from a June 2 incident where police accused DMX of driving erratically in White Plains, N.Y. He was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle as well as seat belt and unsafe lane change violations. DMX's license had previously been revoked after he failed to answer a summons in Queens, New York due to an unrelated incident.

White Plains city court judge Barbara Leak, after previously granting the rapper two postponements, issued a warrant for DMX's arrest on June 28.

DMX must now appear in court on July 24 to answer the White Plains charges, and a July 11 court date has been set for him in connection with driving violations in Harrison, N.Y. where his 2006 Suburban crashed into another vehicle while re-entering traffic from the shoulder of the highway.

DMX has faced other driving-related charges in the past, which led to him serving 70 days in jail last year for violating parole stemming from a 2004 incident that saw him pose as an undercover FBI agent and crash his SUV through the security gate at New York City's John F. Kennedy Airport.

Last month, police in Scottsdale, Ariz. said that they saw DMX pull a gun from a holster and put it under the front seat of his convertible. He was cited for carrying a concealed handgun.

"Sometimes they write me up, give me a ticket and I'm like, 'Are you serious?'" DMX said in an interview with AllHipHop.com. "You have to handcuff me just to give me a fuckin' ticket?

"The same thing that makes you laugh makes you cry. Sometimes I'm drunk doing 150 miles per hour and they let me go. [Police officer says] 'My kid loves you. Have a good night.' Sometimes it's 'You're DMX, please step out of the car [to be arrested].'"