DMX was ordered confined to his suburban New York City home Friday (Aug. 11) by a judge who said he repeatedly violated bail conditions on tax fraud charges.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff also said the rapper must wear an electronic bracelet and ask his permission at least a week in advance if he wants to travel.
“A very strong argument could be made for keeping him in jail,” Rakoff said, but he added that judicial authorities are sometimes too quick in the United States to incarcerate people before trial.
The judge described several times DMX has been convicted of drug or gun possession crimes since 2002 but said he has largely avoided jail time and maybe only learned that “he’s free to thumb his nose at the court” and Pretrial Services officers because he knows that his lawyer, Murray Richman, will always get him out of trouble.
Rakoff said he was told DMX, 46, traveled to St. Louis and Chicago without permission and tested positive for cocaine since his arrest last month. The judge said DMX then rejected a Pretrial Services officer’s offer of drug treatment, telling the officer he would remain drug-free on his own. In subsequent tests, he also tested positive for marijuana and opiates, the judge said.
“The violations are very troubling,” the judge said. “In addition, it sounds like he’s a liar.”
(source: billboard)
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