Rick Ross Charged With Felony and Misdemeanor Battery

Rapper Rick Ross was arrested in Miami Beach on October 1 and charged with felony battery by strangulation and misdemeanor battery, according to Miami-Dade jail and court records. The records list bonds of $5,000 for the felony charge and $1,000 for the misdemeanor. Ross has pleaded not guilty, and his arraignment is scheduled for October 22. The charges stem from an alleged August 28 altercation reported to police by a former girlfriend, according to accounts attributed to law-enforcement sources. The woman reportedly said Ross woke her over a social media photo and struck and choked her during an argument, grabbed her by the ponytail and pushed her against a wall. These claims have not been established in court. The reports do not include the underlying police report or independently verify the account. Ross’s attorneys, Steve Sadow and Bradley Horenstein, said he is innocent and wrongfully accused. They said he had pleaded not guilty and asked the public not to prejudge the case while the judicial process proceeds. Ross was booked at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he was being held, according to the reports.