Rapper DMX pleads guilty to animal cruelty, drug charges
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 | 12:51 PM ET
CBC News
Rapper DMX, shown here in 2006, faces a minimum 90-day jail sentence in relation to his guilty plea.
(Louis Lanzano/Associated Press) Bad boy rapper DMX faces at least 90 days in jail after entering guilty pleas in an Arizona court Tuesday on animal cruelty, theft and drug charges.
The rapper and actor, whose real name is Earl Simmons, is currently in police custody and will remain in jail until his Jan. 30 sentencing hearing.
As part of his plea, the 38-year-old performer cannot own any animals or possess firearms and must also attend a treatment program for animal offenders. If he violates these or other probation requirements, his sentence could amount to more than 10 years in prison.
The charges stem from an August 2007 incident where sheriff's deputies searched the rapper's home in a Phoenix suburb after receiving a report of animal abuse.
Investigating officers seized guns, ammunition, drug paraphernalia and a dozen malnourished pit bulls. Their raid also turned up the carcasses of three dogs.
When police arrived to arrest the rapper at his home in May, he briefly barricaded himself inside before eventually submitting to police. Officers on the scene discovered more pit bull puppies and illegal drugs.
The raid was just one of the embattled performer's brushes with the law this year. He was also charged with assuming a false identity and accused of trying to skip out on a hospital bill this year.
Because he also missed several scheduled court appearances, officials issued multiple warrants for his arrest.
After rising to fame in the late 1990s with albums like ...And Then There Was X and It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, Simmons turned to acting, eventually starring in films such as Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds and Cradle 2 The Grave.
His recent work includes a pair of forthcoming albums slated to debut in early 2009.
With files from the Associated Press
