Following his arrest at a Missouri casino in August, rapper Nelly will not face charges for possession, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said last week.
Nelly, real name Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., won a $50,000 slot machine jackpot at the Hollywood Casino in St. Charles, a property he has regularly performed at in the past, and then underwent a state mandated identification-verification check. Officers discovered an arrest warrant for the three-time Grammy winner for lack of insurance after a previous highway stop, according to reports.
Ecstasy pills were found during a search of the 49-year-old rapper. However, prosecutors have now declined to move forward with the case.
“We don’t believe the facts in this case warrant the issuing of charges,” St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Chris King told TMZ.
Nelly’s attorney Scott Rosenblum said he was unfairly targeted and “paraded” through the casino after his arrest. He argued that the officer conducted a search without probable cause.
Rosenblum is now happy to see the case has come to a close without any court proceedings.
“Wesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney, and his office looked at all the circumstances and after a fair and impartial review of the evidence, declined to prosecute,” he told TMZ.
This isn’t Nelly’s first issue in a casino that has made news. In 2020, he was filmed arguing with another gambler and a supervisor at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.
The rapper has been spotted over the years at numerous poker festivals all over the world, including the WSOP, and has even performed at a few online poker-sponsored player parties. Nelly was on hand for the Venetian poker room’s grand re-opening ceremony in Las Vegas this summer, and even took part in the first hand dealt.