DMX Arrested On Animal Cruelty And Drug Charges

Rapper DMX has been charged with animal cruelty and drug possession after a seven-month investigation which began last August.

DMX (real name Earl Simmons) was arrested early Friday morning at his home in Cave Creek, Ariz. The arrest was connected to a police raid at his home on Aug. 24 last year. Then, the Maricopa County Sheriff's office seized 12 dogs they said appeared to be malnourished and the remains of three dogs buried in DMX's backyard. The sheriff's office said one of the corpses was charred. They also said they discovered a weapons collection. DMX wasn't charged in August, pending an investigation.

On Friday, police seized five pit bull puppies from the rapper's home, along with more weapons, marijuana they said was packaged for sale, and other drug paraphernalia, which led to an additional drug possession charge. The puppies will be taken to a jail and placed in the care of female inmates. DMX is currently being held on seven misdemeanour animal cruelty charges and four felony counts of drug possession. He'll appear in court on Thursday.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the arrest had taken a while because the sheriff's office needed to test the 12 dogs they originally seized to verify they were being mistreated. Back in August, DMX's lawyer Murray Richman said his client had been away on tour at the time of the raid and DMX's neighbour had been caring for the dogs. Richman also said DMX was upset to discover his dogs were being neglected, but the caretaker said he hadn't been given enough money to care for the animals.

"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. "He has a long criminal history and obviously has little or no respect for the law."

Arpaio told The Arizona Republic newspaper that DMX was also being arrested in connection with a fraud scheme at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. But a Mayo Clinic spokeswoman told the Republic that she had no knowledge of any search warrant or investigation there.

DMX pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in 2002 after he kept 13 pit bull puppies in cages that were too small for them. He later appeared in a public service announcement condemning cruelty to animals as part of a plea bargain in the case.

DMX has a troubled past. We'd include some links to his past arrests and charges, but then we'd have something that looked like a ransom note instead of an article. Last Tuesday, however, DMX was arrested and charged with criminal speeding, public endangerment, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license. The charges stemmed from an incident in January when speed enforcement cameras caught his 1966 Chevy Nova II (which had a large DMX decal on the window) traveling at 114 miles per hour (183 kilometres per hour) on a freeway in Scottsdale, Ariz. where the speed limit was 65 mph (105 kph).

DMX launched his career in 1998 with his It's Dark And Hell Is Hot debut album. His latest album is 2006's Year Of The Dog… Again. DMX is working on Year Of The Dog… Again's two follow-ups, Walk With Me Now and Fly With Me Later, which he hopes to release later this year. Walk With Me Now will be a double hip-hop album, while Fly With Me Later is reportedly a gospel release. DMX told MTV News in January that Fly With Me Later will feature "No songs about bitches, no songs about robbing, just straight 'Give God the glory.'"