Andrea Rosebrock 
Update – 12/31/08 – Dead and Emaciated Dogs, Drugs and Guns – DMX Cuts a Deal
Finally after all the hoopla last August with the raid, the dead buried dogs, the malnourished dogs, the drugs and who knows what else, Earl Simmons, also known as DMX was arrested and and booked into jail on seven misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and four felony counts of drug possession, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said.
This comes after an earlier arrest this week on charges of racing on a highway after speed cameras on a Phoenix-area freeway caught him going 114 mph, Arizona Department of Public Safety officers said. He was booked on charges of racing on a highway, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment and three counts of criminal speed and driving on a suspended license.
The 37 year old rapper just can’t get enough of jail it seems. It’s also not the first time he’s faced animal cruelty charges. In 1999 he pleaded guilty to animal cruelty, disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia after police found pipes for smoking crack cocaine, a pistol and 13 pit bulls at his home in Teaneck, N.J. There’s also been weapons charges, parole violations and fraud charges. This guy loves living on the wrong side of the law.
In the August raid, deputies found twelve malnourished pitbulls, three dead dog buried in the yard as well as drugs and guns on the premises. DMX was not present at the time but a man who was supposed to be a caretaker for the dogs said that there wasn’t enough food and he couldn’t afford to take care of them and feed them. He also said that he was going on vacation. A few days later no one was at the premises at all.
After seven patient months of investigation by the sheriff’s department, Sheriff Joe Arpaio felt they had enough information to proceed with the arrest of DMX.
“This was a tough case,” Arpaio said. “We were not in a rush; we put a lot of time on it, but you don’t rush into an investigation.”
DMX attempted to barricade himself in his bedroom at the time of the search warrant but eventually came out, offered no further resistance, and was booked into Fourth Avenue Jail, according to the MCSO’s tactical unit.
The sheriffs department found five pitbull puppies and Arpaio was surprised that Simmons still had dogs at his home.
“He had to know that we were still investigating him,” Arpaio said.
They also confiscated marijuana that appeared to be packaged for sale, drug paraphernalia and weapons, according to a court document.
Also possibly connected to the Simmons case is an investigation into the Mayo Clinic, 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard in Phoenix, involving a possible fraud scheme.
Arpaio said deputies asked for records in the fraud case.
But Lynn Closway, a Mayo Clinic spokeswoman, said the hospital “has no knowledge of anyone being served today, and if Mayo did know and it involved a patient or employee, it would be unable to comment.”
Simmons is expected to appear in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing.
County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the rapper’s celebrity status will not change how he’ll approach the case.
“We are handling this case as we would any other incident of alleged animal cruelty,” Thomas said.
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