Rick Ross was detained this Thursday in Miami on two counts of assault, one of which involves strangulation. The rapper surrendered to the police after an ex-partner reported an alleged incident that took place on August 28 at the home they shared.
According to the complaint, he reportedly woke up angry after seeing a photo in which she was tagged on social media. The woman says he began accusing her of having a relationship with another man and, after she denied it, he slapped her, punched her several times in the chest, grabbed her by the hair, and slammed her against a wall. She also claims that he choked her until she could no longer breathe. The woman provided the police with photographs of the injuries she attributes to the alleged attack.
Ross has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers insist the accusations are false. They also note that the ex-partner took about a month to come forward to report the incident. The rapper remains in custody as his team works to secure his release.
The case concerns one of the most recognizable names in American rap over the past two decades. Rick Ross has collaborated with virtually every leading figure in the genre, from Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne to Drake, with whom he maintained a notably close musical relationship for years. He has also worked with artists outside hip hop such as Usher and Justin Bieber. His latest album, “Set In Stone,” released this year, includes new collaborations with artists like Gucci Mane, T.I., and Don Toliver.
This is not the first time Ross has encountered legal trouble. In 2015 he was arrested in Georgia along with his bodyguard for a case involving kidnapping and assault. The more serious charges were dropped after a plea deal in 2017, when Ross agreed to plead no contest to a charge of aggravated assault and to several lesser charges. He received five years of probation and a $10,000 fine.
