Police in Miami have arrested Grammy-nominated rapper DaBaby on a battery charge and he's being held on an arrest warrant on similar charges out of Texas
January 3, 2020, 3:06 PM
2 min read
MIAMI -- Grammy-nominated rapper DaBaby was arrested on a battery charge in Miami on Thursday night and is being held on an arrest warrant out of Texas, according to court records.
The rapper, whose real name is Jonathan Kirk, was booked into the Miami-Dade jail just before midnight Thursday. Court records did not provide details on what let to Kirk's most recent arrest.
After his arrest, authorities learned there was a warrant in Texas for Kirk's arrest on battery charges. There were no details available about the Texas case.
He was expected to make a first appearance in court on Friday, and will stay in custody until further notice, Miami-Dade Corrections spokesman Juan Diasgranados said in an email.
Kirk, who is best known for his single “Suge,” was in South Florida for a New Year's Eve performance at a Miami Beach nightclub.
Kirk, 28, was handcuffed and cited Dec. 23 arrest in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, on charges of marijuana possession and resisting an officer.
Police in that case said officers working outside the concert venue, Bojangles Arena, noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from the van that brought Kirk there. Officers say they approached the vehicle and could see marijuana in plain view through the windows by using their flashlights.
The police statement said that gave them probable cause to take further action. Officers said they waited until after the concert and approached Kirk as he was exiting the venue around 11 p.m., but he walked away and refused to speak to them.
They eventually detained him in handcuffs and searched the vehicle.
Officers, who said they found less than a half-ounce (14 grams) of marijuana, took him to the sheriff's department but decided ultimately to issue him citations and let him leave in lieu of making an arrest.
Kirk later told reporters he believes officers unlawfully searched his car while he was on stage .
“They follow me, they pull us over for no reason, they search our cars,” Kirk said.
The department said it has launched an internal affairs investigation to determine whether officers followed all department procedures.
Before the concert, Kirk had handed out toys to underprivileged children in Charlotte.
