Nelly was taken into custody early Wednesday at a St. Louis-area casino
on a traffic violation and suspicion of illegal drug possession.
According to online inmate records, the arrest occurred at 4:45 a.m. in Maryland Heights, a suburb of St. Louis, at the Hollywood Casino and Hotel.
Nelly, born Cornell Haynes II, was stopped for ID verification, and subsequently arrested on an outstanding warrant for failure to obtain car insurance, Variety reported.
When officers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s gaming division searched his car, they reported finding four ecstasy pills.
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Nelly was then transported to the Maryland Heights Police Department and charged with possession of a controlled substance, and no proof of insurance on the previous traffic charge.
He was released a short time later, booking records show.
The rapper’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, told TMZ his client was treated unfairly.
According to Rosenblum, Nelly won a jackpot at the casino and an officer told him employees needed to run a background check before giving him his winnings.
Rosenblum claimed the background check, which turned up the outstanding warrant, was bogus because Nelly had won bigger jackpots at the same casino and was able to claim his money without additional checks.
A native of St. Louis, Nelly is known for his hits songs, including “Hot in Herre,” “Dilemma,” “Country Grammar,” “Ride Wit Me,” and “Over and Over.”
According to the Grammys website, he has taken home three Grammy Awards over the years.
The RIAA ranks him as the fourth best-selling rap artist in American music history, with 21 million albums sold in the U. S.
This isn’t Nelly’s first encounter with the law. He faced drug charges in 2015, and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He was sentenced to a year of probation.
He was also arrested in 2017 after a woman alleged he sexually assaulted her on his tour bus. The case was dropped after the alleged victim refused to cooperate with police.
Recently, Nelly has been back in the spotlight after reuniting with R&B singer Ashanti. The couple, who first dated in 2003, reconnected in September 2023.
In April, Ashanti shared the news on her Instagram page that they were expecting their first child together.
People recently confirmed that the couple tied the knot back on December 27, 2023.