Nelly Arrested for Alleged Drug Possession in Missouri

Rapper Nelly was arrested for alleged drug possession in Missouri on August 7, reports Fox 2 Now. Police reportedly found four ecstasy pills in the car, and he was taken into custody early this morning. He has since been released. According to the rapper’s attorney Scott Rosenblum, Nelly was collecting a jackpot from a casino, and an officer who needed to supervise the money transfer ran a background check on him. That was when they found a warrant for his arrest from a 2018 infraction for driving without proof of insurance. The officer then searched his car and reportedly found the ecstasy pills. The attorney also claims that Nelly has won significant jackpots before, as recently as last week, and did not have to go through background checks.

Rosenblum also released a statement explaining that Nelly, legal name Cornell I. Haynes Jr., has to regularly go through security, including FBI checks, to tour, writing, “Under similar circumstances, assuming there was an old warrant without any notice to the individual for no proof of insurance, any other citizen would have been told to address it and allowed to go on their way. It is also important to note that Mr. Haynes, as part of the requirements to travel internationally, is regularly asked to supply proof of no warrants. Including FBI checks. There were none. I am 100% confident this case will go nowhere. And we will be asking for an inquiry into this officer’s conduct.”