Rick Ross walked out of a Miami jail Thursday and told reporters he is innocent of the domestic violence charges that put him there hours earlier.
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“First and foremost, I’m totally innocent of these fabricated allegations made against me,” Ross said outside the jail. “I’ll be in Dubai tomorrow, Paris Saturday, and I plan on having a bowl of rigatoni with heavy marinara Sunday. I repeat, rigatoni. Heavy marinara.” As reporters kept calling out questions, he added one more line on his way out: “They’re not true.”
Ross, 50, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts II, turned himself in to Miami Beach police early Thursday morning. He was booked just after 6 a.m. on one felony count of battery by strangulation and one misdemeanor count of battery, with both charges listed as domestic violence. He appeared in bond court by video in a red jail uniform alongside attorney Bradley Horenstein, and the judge set bond at $5,000 on the strangulation charge and $1,000 on the battery charge. Ross posted the $6,000 and was released later that day.
The charges stem from an Aug. 28 incident at Ross’ Star Island home. According to a police affidavit, a woman who said she had lived with Ross as his girlfriend for more than a year told officers that an argument escalated after he questioned her about lying to him and accused her of seeing someone else. She said he slapped her each time she denied it, struck her in the chest several times, and twisted the collar of the hoodie she was wearing until she could not breathe. She told police he then grabbed her by her ponytail and slammed her against a wall. She said she got out of the house, came back, and waited until Ross left before gathering her things. She reported the incident to police on Tuesday.
Police have not named the woman. Last week, Ross’ former girlfriend Jazzma Kendrick accused him of physical abuse in a series of social media posts, including a photo of what she described as a busted lip from the day she left him. The injuries she described line up with those in the police report, but authorities have not confirmed she is the woman in the case.
Ross’ attorneys, Steve Sadow and Horenstein, said in a statement that he is being wrongfully accused by a former girlfriend whose motivations are unclear. Sadow pointed out that the report came about a month after the alleged incident and said Ross has pleaded not guilty to both charges. The legal team asked fans and the public not to prejudge the case while it moves through court.
Ross repeated that message in a video on his Instagram Story after his release. “I am totally innocent of the fabricated allegations made against myself,” he said, then said it again. He praised his legal team and said he is “totally confident that these fabricated allegations will be laid to rest.” He then laid out the same weekend plans he gave reporters: Dubai Friday night, Paris Saturday, and a big plate of rigatoni with heavy marinara when he gets back Sunday. This time he explained the reference, tying the rigatoni line to a video he just released from his new album, Set in Stone.
This is not the first time Ross has faced assault charges. In 2015, he and his bodyguard were arrested in Fayette County, Georgia, after groundskeepers at his estate, the former Evander Holyfield mansion, accused them of holding them against their will, and Ross was accused of beating one of the men with a handgun. Ross denied the allegations and filed a countersuit claiming the men were trying to extort him. He pleaded no contest in 2017 and was sentenced to probation.
Ross is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 22.
