An id test at a Missouri on line casino led to an arrest for ecstasy possession for rapper Nelly in Wednesday’s early morning hours.
The 49-year-old rapper allegedly had 4 ecstasy tablets and was taken into custody by the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 4:45 a.m. at Hollywood Casino in St. Charles. An identification-verification test is regular below the state’s gaming legislation, in keeping with experiences, and officers discovered an arrest warrant for the three-time Grammy winner for lack of insurance coverage after a earlier freeway cease. The tablets had been then discovered throughout a search.
Nelly, actual title Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., was later booked into the Maryland Heights Police Department and earlier than being launched.
Rapper Responds
Nelly’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, informed The New York Post that Nelly was unfairly targeted “by an overzealous, out-of-line officer” and that the id test solely got here after he received whereas playing on the property.
“After winning several jackpots, at a venue where Mr. Haynes frequently visits and entertains at its amphitheater; instead of just supervising the transfer of Mr. Haynes’ winnings, this officer felt compelled to needlessly run a check for warrants,” Rosenblum mentioned.
“The officer informed Mr. Haynes a background check was mandated when a player won over a certain amount; Mr. Haynes knew this to be untrue as he had won several jackpots for similar or greater amounts including one just a week prior without incident or a background check.”
Rosenblum additionally famous that Nelly recurrently undergoes FBI background checks to journey internationally and that features proof of no excellent arrest warrants.
Rosenblum informed the Post that the officer “felt compelled to handcuff Mr. Haynes behind his back and parade him through the casino in front of other patrons” and “conducted a search without probable cause where he claimed to have found alleged ‘ecstasy’ in Mr. Haynes’ personal property.”
He famous that the case will in the end “go nowhere” and can search an investigation into the officer’s conduct.
The rapper has been noticed through the years at quite a few poker festivals everywhere in the world, together with the WSOP, and has even carried out at just a few on-line poker-sponsored participant events. In reality, Nelly was readily available for the Venetian poker site’s grand re-opening ceremony in Las Vegas simply final week, and even took half within the first hand dealt.
There was additionally an incident on the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut again in 2020.
