Rick Ross has been officially indicted and charged with 9 counts of assault, relating to an incident that took place in 2015, it has been revealed (March 2).
US rapper Ross has been indicted in a Georgia court for allegedly attacking a grounds-keeper at his home last summer, preventing the worker from leaving Ross’ property and ‘pistol whipping’ him, reports claimed.
Today, TMZ have reported that the jury have formally charged Ross for the incident. However, Steve Sadow – who is representing Ross – said he believes the artist should be immune from criminal prosecution as the grounds-keeper was committing felonies on Ross’ personal property, thus prompting him to act in self-defence.
Pitchfork claims that it ‘obtained’ official documents last Wednesday, detailing how a Fayette County grand jury formally charged the rapper – and his bodyguard Nadrian James – on nine counts including kidnapping, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. On Monday(February 29), Sadow had filed a motion stating he should not be prosecuted due to the state’s law on self-defence.
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The incident reportedly took place in June 2015, and the warrant for Ross’ arrest read: “Subject did assault the victim, Jonathan Zamudio, (twice), with a handgun, specifically a Glock 17, 9mm, black in color, and in doing so caused two chipped teeth, jaw injury, neck injury, and multiple scratches and contusions. The victim lost the use of his jaw and is restricted to soft foods and liquid diet only as result of not being able to chew food.”
Ross is also accused of using “a handgun and physical touching to force, against his will, Jonathan Zamudio into the residence (guest house)… where he was taken down a hallway, into a bedroom, and forced to remain.”
Ross’ bodyguard Nadrian L. James has also been taken into custody and charged with the same offences.
Earlier in the same month, Ross was pulled over by the police while driving, later being charged with one traffic violation and one count of marijuana possession. A spokesperson for the Georgia Sherriff’s office said that the Ross had been “very cooperative” with the authorities and did not appear to be under the influence when he was arrested.
The Sherriff’s office also confirmed that Ross had not received any special treatment while in custody and had to wait in line for several hours to be processed.
In 2014, Ross was arrested in North Carolina following his performance at SuperJam 2014 at the Greensboro Coliseum. A warrant was released for his arrest after he failed to attend a court date for a previous drug offence dating back to 2011. He was also arrested in Miami in 2008 on gun and drug possession charges