Rapper Nelly arrested in St. Louis area on charges of possessing ecstasy, not having insurance

Rapper Nelly was arrested early Wednesday in St. Louis on charges of possessing ecstasy pills and not having insurance, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Nelly, 49, the "Hot in Here" rapper whose real name is Cornell Haynes II, was arrested at 4:45 a.m. and charged with having four ecstasy pills — a controlled substance — and for being without insurance, according to state patrol records.

The state patrol then delivered him to the Maryland Heights Police Department, where he was arrested on a failure-to-appear warrant stemming from a traffic charge in the St. Louis suburb, the police department said in a statement Wednesday.

According to state patrol records, Nelly was released at the Maryland Heights Police Department.

Scott Rosenblum, a lawyer for Nelly, addressed the charges in a statement, stating that Nelly was not charged with drug possession, "He was arrested for 'No Proof of Insurance' from 2018 on a warrant issued December 2023 that he received no notice."

The statement said Nelly was "targeted by an overzealous, out of line officer," who said a background check was required after Nelly won a certain amount at the casino where he was arrested.

Rosenblum said a background check has not previously been performed when Nelly won "similar or greater amounts" at the same venue.

He said the officer handcuffed Nelly "and parade[d] him through the casino," and then "conducted a search without probably cause where he claimed to have found alleged 'ecstasy,'" in Nelly's personal items.

Rosenblum said Nelly is "regularly asked to supply proof of no warrants. Including FBI checks," as a requirement to travel internationally. "There were none."

"I am 100% confident this case will go nowhere," Rosenblum said. "And we will be asking for an inquiry into this officer’s conduct."