Rick Ross Charged With Felony Strangulation in Miami Beach Domestic Violence Arrest

Rick Ross, born William Leonard Roberts II, was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 6:10 a.m. Thursday after turning himself in to Miami Beach police, according to Miami-Dade jail records cited by CBS News and the NY Post. He faces one felony count of battery by strangulation and one misdemeanor battery count, both classified as domestic violence.

The 50-year-old rapper appeared via Zoom in Miami-Dade bond court Thursday morning. Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer said she had reviewed the arrest report and found probable cause, according to CBS News Miami. Glazer described the case as a delayed report tied to an alleged incident on Aug. 28.

Bond figures varied slightly by outlet. CBS News reported Judge Glazer set bond at $4,000 on the felony charge and $1,000 on the misdemeanor, totaling $5,000. The Guardian and Consequence reported a $6,000 total bond. The discrepancy likely reflects different points in the booking-to-court-hearing process, though the felony and misdemeanor breakdown is consistent across sources.

Glazer issued a stay-away order barring Ross from direct or indirect contact with the alleged victim, including through social media or third parties, and ordered him to stay away from her home, workplace or school. She also ordered Ross to surrender any firearms, barred him from possessing weapons, and prohibited criminal activity or drug use while the case is pending. His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 22.

What the alleged victim told police

According to law enforcement sources cited by TMZ and repeated by justjared and Consequence, the woman told police Ross woke her from sleep on Aug. 28 in a "jealous rage" over a photo she was tagged in on social media. She alleged he accused her of cheating and struck her each time she denied it, then hit her in the chest multiple times, choked her to the point she couldn't breathe, grabbed her by the ponytail and slammed her against a wall. She reportedly provided police photos of her injuries. She did not file a police report until roughly a month after the alleged incident, according to Ross's attorneys.

The defense

Ross's attorneys, Steve Sadow and Bradley Horenstein, say he is innocent and has pleaded not guilty. "William Roberts II, professionally known as Rick Ross, is being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose true motivations are unclear," the attorneys said in a statement provided to TMZ. "The ex did not even file a police report until a month after the claimed incident allegedly took place. Mr. Roberts is innocent and has pled not guilty to the charges. He respectfully requests that his friends, fans and the general public not prejudge the situation and allow the judicial process to run its course."

Horenstein told CBS News Miami: "All I can say is that the allegations are false. He's innocent. Everything is going to come out. We just ask that you allow the process to play out before rushing to judgment, because the truth will come in." No charges have been filed against Ross beyond the two counts listed in the arrest report, and he has not been convicted of anything.

A separate public accusation, not officially linked

Days before the arrest, model Jazzma Kendrick, identified by multiple outlets as Ross's on-and-off girlfriend, posted on Instagram accusing him of physical abuse. She shared a photo of a bruised and bloodied lip captioned "The day Rick busted my lip and the day I left," and wrote in a follow-up post that the incident happened "about a month ago" and that she had started healing, according to Stereogum and wild941. Rapper 50 Cent publicly weighed in, writing online that Ross "put his hands on baby girl" and that "domestic violence is not a joke," per wild941.

Most outlets covering Thursday's arrest, including the NY Post, CBS News and the Guardian, placed it directly alongside Kendrick's allegations. WFSB, citing local station WPLG, reported plainly that "it's unclear if Ross' arrest is connected to Kendrick." The Guardian likewise noted that Miami-Dade authorities have not specified the circumstances of the arrest or identified the alleged victim by name, referring to her only by initials in court. No source in this reporting confirms on the record that Kendrick is the woman named in the arrest report.

Ross posted videos of himself at a Miami Dolphins home game and relaxing poolside around the time Kendrick's allegations were making headlines, according to the NY Post, though that predates his arrest and isn't itself evidence tied to the charges.

Ross, a longtime Miami resident with five No. 1 albums, released his 12th studio album, "Set In Stone," in July, featuring Gucci Mane, The-Dream and Yung Miami, according to the Guardian. The case now moves toward his Oct. 22 arraignment, where the identity of the alleged victim and the specific facts underlying the charges are likely to become clearer in court filings.