Rapper DMX arrested, accused of DUI

Rapper DMX arrested, accused of DUI

Rapper DMX has found himself in trouble with the law again, this time with a DUI charge in South Carolina, authorities said Friday.

Troopers in Greenville pulled over in a 1978 Plymouth station wagon Thursday night after spotting it traveling erratically, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said. DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was driving, he was given a field sobriety test and failed, the agency said.

The rapper was charged with driving under the influence, driving without a license and driving without a seat belt, the patrol said.

However, his publicist, Domenick Nati, said DMX wasn’t arrested for DUI.

“He was arrested early this morning but quickly released,” Nati told CNN. “X was given a breathalyzer test and easily passed it. He is back at his home in South Carolina and we are continuing our focus on his upcoming album and acting roles.”

But the state highway patrol responded to a CNN inquiry Friday evening by repeating that the 42-year-old rapper was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, driving without a license and driving without a seat belt.

DMX has faced various criminal charges in the past, including probation violation, illegal drug possession and animal cruelty.

Maricopa County, Arizona, authorities said he was arrested five times after August 2007. That included a May 2008 arrest on drug and animal cruelty charges, when Simmons attempted to barricade himself inside his Cave Creek home, sheriff’s deputies said.

Simmons also ran into trouble while in prison, being placed on “lockdown status” and forced to eat only bread and water for “jailhouse infractions.” In February 2009, he threw a food tray in anger at a corrections officer, according to the sheriff’s office.

In 2010 he was sent to prison after violating his probation. Four days later DMX was admitted to the Flamenco Mental Health unit for an undisclosed disorder.