Rapper DMX Caught in Florida; Lawyer Says Sheriff Arpaio Pushed to Involve FBI

Accused animal abuser Earl Simmons, a.k.a. rapper DMX, was arrested in Florida today following yesterday's news that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was offering $5,000 for information on his whereabouts. The rapper, who was arrested at his Cave Creek home in May on animal cruelty charges, was found at the mansion of record producer Scott Storch,...

By Ray Stern

December 9, 2008

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Accused animal abuser Earl Simmons, a.k.a. rapper DMX, was arrested in Florida today following yesterday's news that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was offering $5,000 for information on his whereabouts.

The rapper, who was arrested at his Cave Creek home in May on animal cruelty charges, was found at the mansion of record producer Scott Storch, according to an article on the entertainment news site TMZ. A woman who wanted the $5,000 tipped police off, say news reports.

An article on mtv.com quotes DMX's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, saying that Miami police responded to an earlier tip today that DMX was at a rehab clinic, but the Florida cops turned around when the clinic refused to cooperate. Cohen told MTV:

So the cops left, and apparently the sheriff down here didn't like that too much, so he called in the feds.

Rap fans following the case might wonder why Sheriff Arpaio acted like DMX was the featured fugitive on America's Most Wanted. Although the alleged animal cruelty is heinous, it's relatively small potatoes compared to the daily big-city crime of the Phoenix area, and the sheriff's office reportedly has 1,500 unserved warrants sitting around.

No doubt, Arpaio's enthusiasm was bolstered by the publicity factor on this one.

But animal lovers should enjoy the fact that DMX will be dragged back to Maricopa County to account for the charges against him. -- Ray Stern

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Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.