Deputies Raid Home Of Rapper DMX
12 Dogs Seized; Others Found Buried
POSTED: 2:31 pm PDT August 24, 2007 UPDATED: 10:28 am PDT August 25, 2007
CAVE CREEK, Ariz. -- Sheriff's deputies acting on a tip of animal cruelty raided the Phoenix-area home of rapper-turned-actor DMX and carried out 12 pit bulls in need of immediate medical care, investigators said.They said they also found several dogs buried in the back yard of the Cave Creek property.
The Maricopa County sheriff's deputies said a tip came in more than a week ago about dogs being kept in inhumane conditions, said Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Detectives went to the home and then called one of the rapper's lawyers, Arapio said. Investigators told him that the conditions for the dogs needed to be improved or deputies would obtain a search warrant, Arpaio said.Authorities armed with a warrant returned to the home Friday and discovered a dozen dogs that were not being watered or fed. Arapio said.
A source told CBS 5 News that someone had recently been hired to take care of DMX's dogs while he is in New York. Neighbors said they haven't seen DMX for several months.
Investigators also found drug paraphernalia and a cache of weapons inside the home, according Arpaio.Arpaio said it does not appear dogfighting was involved, just abuse of dogs.Earl Simmons, 36, also known as DMX, was not at home when the raid occurred, according to deupties.
The animals were taken to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office M.A.S.H. unit. The facility at the jail is no-kill animal shelter created to house and care for animals that have been abused or neglected by their caretakers and rescued by the Animal Cruelty Investigative Unit.DMX has a history of law-enforcement run-ins.
In 1999, during a "Hard Knock Life" tour stop in Denver, he was arrested and later cleared in the stabbing and shooting of his mother.
In 2002, he pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for neglecting 13 pit bulls in his possession.
