Rapper Rick Ross was arrested in Miami Beach early Thursday and charged with battery after a woman he was living with told police that he assaulted her, authorities said.
Ross, whose legal name is William Roberts II, turned himself in at the Miami Beach Police Station, two days after the woman reported the alleged incident to police.
According to online court records, Ross faces a felony charge of battery by strangulation and a misdemeanor battery charge.
Ross, 50, has denied the allegations through his attorney, Steve Sadow, who said the rapper was being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose motives were unclear.
“The ex did not even file a police report until a month after the claimed incident allegedly took place,” Sadow said in a statement. “Mr. Roberts is innocent and has pled not guilty to the charges.”
Sadow asked Ross' supporters and the public not to prejudge the case and to allow the legal process to continue.
Ross was released from jail later Thursday after posting a $5,000 cash bond, court records showed. His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 22.
According to a police report, the woman told Miami Beach detectives that she had been living with Ross on Aug. 28 when he accused her of cheating on him and allegedly struck her several times.
She also alleged that Ross choked her using the collar of her shirt and pushed her into a wall. She said she eventually left the home and returned later, after Ross had left, to collect her belongings.
Ross pleaded no contest in 2017 to an aggravated assault charge stemming from a 2015 incident at his suburban Atlanta mansion. He was accused of forcing a man into a guesthouse and beating him with a handgun.
Under Georgia's first-offender program, a court later issued an order exonerating Ross of guilt on the felony charge, according to court records.
Ross, a longtime South Florida resident, rose to fame in 2006 with his debut single “Hustlin'.”
He became a major figure in Southern hip-hop during the 2000s, when Atlanta and Houston were among the genre's main centers. “Hustlin'” was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and led to a bidding war before Ross signed with Def Jam Records, then headed by Jay-Z.
His debut album, “Port of Miami,” also went platinum and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It was followed by several successful albums, including “Trilla” in 2008 and “Deeper Than Rap” in 2009. Ross has received nine Grammy Award nominations.
In 2008, he founded Maybach Music Group, which helped launch or expand the careers of artists including Wale, Meek Mill and French Montana.
His latest album, “Set In Stone,” was released in July.