The rapper DMX accused of robbing New Jersey man at a gas station, police say
Police are investigating accusations that rapper DMX and his associates robbed a New Jersey man of thousands of dollars in an encounter at a gas station on Sunday.
A 21-year-old man said that at around 12.30am on Sunday, he encountered the rapper and about 15 members of his entourage at an Exxon gas station in Newark, Sgt. Ronald Glover, a spokesman for the Newark Police Department, told NJ.com.
DMX, whose real is Earl Simmons, was in town to perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre in Newark on Saturday night.
The alleged victim said he recognised DMX, and they chatted about music for a short time.
“Fans basically surrounding him, they wanted to take a couple pictures with him,” said a friend who was with the man at the time of the alleged incident, according to WABC.
Things got tense when a male in DMX’s entourage pulled out a gun and “demanded the victim’s money,” Glover said in a statement.
According to the alleged victim’s friend, he had just cashed a paycheque and had $3,200 (Dh11,700) in cash in his pocket.
“They probably thought we had a gun, because he has his hand in his pocket,” the alleged victim’s friend told WABC. “That’s why he asked him what was in his pocket. Then he was like ‘nah, there’s nothing in my pocket,’ then he showed him the money.”
Glover said that a member of the entourage “showed the victim a gun and demanded the victim’s money,” according to the 21-year-old. DMX then snatched the cash from the alleged victim’s hands and left the scene in a Cadillac Escalade.
The alleged victim followed the vehicle and jotted down the license plate number and reported the incident to police. No charges have been filed against DMX, and, according to WABC, Newark police hope that surveillance video at the gas station can shed light on what happened.
DMX has had more than a few run-ins with the law. In 2008, he was charged with dog fighting, animal cruelty and drug possession violations. And in 2010, he spent several months in jail for violating his probation.
