Rick Ross (born William Leonard Roberts II) has been arrested in Miami Beach on multiple domestic violence charges, including felony battery by strangulation and misdemeanor battery.
According to Miami-Dade jail records, Ross was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 6:10 a.m. on Thursday, October 1st. He is being held on a $6,000 total bond: $5,000 for the felony battery by strangulation charge and $1,000 for the misdemeanor battery charge. Ross has retained attorneys Steve Sadow and Bradley Horenstein, pleaded not guilty to both charges, and is scheduled to be arraigned on October 22nd.
Per TMZ, Ross voluntarily surrendered to police after his ex-girlfriend contacted law enforcement on Tuesday to report an alleged physical altercation that occurred on August 28th. The woman told police that she was asleep when he “woke her up in a jealous rage” over a social media photo. According to the celebrity news outlet’s law enforcement sources, Ross accused her of being in a relationship with someone else and struck her every time she denied the accusation.
TMZ’s report further alleges that Ross struck the woman in the chest multiple times, choked her “to the point where she could not breathe,” grabbed her by the ponytail, and slammed her against a wall. The woman gave investigators photos of her alleged injuries.
“Mr. Roberts is innocent and has pled not guilty to the charges,” Ross’ attorneys said in a statement provided to TMZ. “[He] is being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose true motivations are unclear. The ex did not even file a police report until a month after the claimed incident allegedly took place… He respectfully requests that his friends, fans and the general public not prejudge the situation and allow the judicial process to run its course.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with details of the police report, the allegations, and a statement from Ross’ legal team.
