Rapper Nelly was arrested at Hollywood Casino and Hotel in Maryland Heights, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) on Aug. 7 at 4:45 am after winning several jackpots. In order to receive the payout, he had to provide ID verification to the Missouri Gaming Commission. A warrant from 2018 for driving without insurance was found as well as four pills (reportedly Ecstasy) in his vehicle.
Nelly (Cornell Haynes Jr.) was charged with drug possession and taken to the Maryland Heights Police station.
“I am 100% confident this case will go nowhere,” his attorney Scott Rosenblum stated. “And we will be asking for an inquiry into this officer’s conduct.”
He says the officer "needlessly" did a warrant search, then cuffed Nelly and “felt compelled” to “parade him through the casino in front of other customers."
Rosenblum contends, "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."
Nelly regularly performs and gambles at the casino. He's won jackpots there before but had not been required to show his ID, says Rosenblum.
In 2015, the "Hot in Here" rapper was busted for possessing cannabis and Ecstasy during a traffic stop in Tennessee.
MORE CELEB BUSTS
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• Darius Rucker in Tennessee (2023)
• Gigi Hadid in Grand Cayman (2023)
