Rick Ross was arrested in Miami Beach and booked early October 1 on one felony count of battery by strangulation and one misdemeanor battery count, with bond set at $6,000, following social media allegations from his ex-girlfriend Jazzma Kendrick.
The rapper, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts II, was arrested around 5 a.m. Thursday and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to Miami-Dade County jail records. Both charges were characterized as involving domestic violence. Days before the arrest, Kendrick — a 39-year-old Miami-based model and content creator — had posted a series of Instagram stories on September 26 showing an injured lip, writing: "I don't know a lot of things, but I do know that a man that puts his hands on me, is a man that never loved me and never will." In another photo she wrote: "The day Rick busted my lip and the day I left."
According to the arrest affidavit, the alleged incident took place on the morning of August 28. Kendrick reported it to the Miami Beach Police Department on September 29 — a month later — telling police that Ross had slapped her in the face repeatedly and hit her in the chest "several times" before grabbing her by the ponytail and slamming her against the wall. She said Ross then hit her in the face as she was bent over, splitting her lip, and she provided police with timestamped photographic evidence of her injuries.
Ross's team denied that any abuse occurred. "William Roberts II, professionally known as Rick Ross, is being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose true motivations are unclear," defense attorney Steve Sadow said in a statement. "The ex did not even file a police report until September 29, a month after the claimed incident allegedly took place on August 28, 2026. Mr. Roberts is innocent and has pled not guilty to the charges. He respectfully requests that his friends, fans and the general public not prejudge the situation and allow the judicial process to run its course." Another defense attorney, Bradley Horenstein, filed a written plea of not guilty. A stay-away order was entered as a pretrial condition, and an arraignment is scheduled for October 22.
Ross, 50, is best known for hits including "Hustlin'" and for founding the Maybach Music Group label; the longtime Miami resident owns a mansion on Star Island in Miami Beach and an estate outside Atlanta he calls "The Promise Land." The allegations, which remain unproven, now hang over the next phase of a career that has weathered legal trouble before — with the October 22 arraignment as the next milestone.