Rapper DMX Busted on Drug and Animal Cruelty Charges

Not Looking Cute in His Mugshot
Phoenix, AZ - In what seems to be the nation's hot spot for dogfighting rings, Rapper DMX got busted in Phoenix. His arrest has always been coming; it was just a matter of when. The rapper may soon join ranks with pop-star, athlete Michael Vick in carrying out the brutal activity of dogfighting.

DMX was arrested on drug and animal-cruelty charges following an overnight raid on the rapper’s house. The 37-year-old musician, whose given name is Earl Simmons, initially tried to barricade himself in his bedroom, according to Captain Paul Chagolla. He finally emerged when a SWAT team entered his north Phoenix home during the early morning raid.

The arrest and search warrants stemmed from indictments for felony drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. DMX's lawyer, Murray Richman, does not believe seized evidence supports the charges of animal cruelty, which has been a major focus of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Richman may be oblivious to the Gary, Indiana case, in which a similar legal angle was annihilated.

Rapper DMX has a rapsheet, including an arrest earlier this week for doing 114 mph. In June 2006, he was cited for carrying a concealed handgun outside a nightclub. He also served 70 days in jail in 2005 for violating his parole after a 2004 incident in which he posed as an undercover federal agent and crashed his vehicle through a security gate at Kennedy International Airport.

Rappers, Football Players and Pit Bulls
Lisa Wade of the Huffingtonpost.com writes in a story last October -- long before DMX was arrested -- about the hypermasculinity link between rap stars, football players and pit bulls. She says, "DMX uses the reputation of the pit bull to suggest that he is powerfully and unpredictably violent." Bullseye Wade: Violence is what links these groups together.

A quick Google search shows Jerome Mathis, Todd McNair and Steve Foley (each from Texas football teams), LeShon Joshon of the Greenbay Packers and Joey Porter of the Pittsburgh Steelers mixed up with pit bulls, some more seriously than others. The question is, can anyone put a stop to it? A reformed Michael Vick is an obvious person to lead such a public campaign.