Rapper Nelly arrested in Missouri following casino win: attorney
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. (KTVI) – Acclaimed rapper, actor, and entrepreneur Nelly was arrested early Wednesday morning in Maryland Heights, Missouri, for no proof of car insurance, leading to an alleged drug possession.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's arrest report, the rapper behind smash hits "Country Grammar," "Ride Wit Me" and "Hot In Herre" was taken into custody around 4:45 a.m.
Nelly, aka Cornell I. Haynes Jr., 49, was arrested for a 2018 infraction, which turned into a warrant issued in December 2023, according to his attorney.
Scott Rosenblum, Nelly’s attorney, released a statement later Wednesday evening. Rosenblum said his client was at the casino, where he “frequently visits and entertains at its amphitheater” and won several jackpots.
An officer, who usually supervises the money transfer, also ran a check for warrants, saying that “a background check was mandated when a player won over a certain amount,” according to Rosenblum.
The attorney denies that such checks are mandated, noting that Nelly had won larger amounts of money a week ago with no background checks. A release from the Missouri State Highway Patrol states that the initial patrol contact with Nelly was during an “identification verification in accordance with the Missouri Gaming Commission regulations.”
Rosenblum says the officer discovered a warrant for a no proof of insurance infraction, handcuffed Nelly, and conducted a search, which led to the discovery of four pills. A preliminary investigation from MSHP found the pills to be “tentatively identified” as ecstasy.
The end of Rosenblum’s statement reads:
“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.”
Nelly was transported to the Maryland Heights Police Department and was released a short time after his arrest. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, formal charges for possession of a controlled substance were submitted to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Nelly grew up in the St. Louis area and got his start in music there in the 1990s as part of the group St. Lunatics.
It's not the rapper's first run-in with the law. In 2015, he was arrested after drugs were allegedly found on his tour bus in Tennessee. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession, which were eventually cleared from his criminal record after he completed a diversion program.
The following year he was hit with a tax lien. He had owed more than $2 million to the IRS, TMZ reported at the time.