Rapper DMX Arrested for Violating Probation

Troubled rapper DMX was arrested in Arizona on Tuesday for violating his probation by regularly using illegal drugs during the last nine months, authorities said.

The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, told a probation officer that he used cocaine and was not complying with the terms of his treatment plan, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told Reuters.

He faces five counts of violating probation.

Simmons was booked into a Phoenix jail late Tuesday afternoon and was isolated from other inmates, sheriff's officials said.

"We would hope that he is finally sent to prison," Arpaio said. "We've arrested him five times already. How many times do you have to violate the law?"

The rap star has faced continued legal trouble in Arizona, and was serving probation for throwing a food tray at a detention officer inside a Phoenix jail last year. Simmons spent 90 days in jail on drug, theft and animal abuse charges.

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Bail Agent Sentence to Three Years Probation

A bail agent who pleaded guilty in 2004 to charges stemming from the county's bail bond investigation was sentenced Friday to three years felony probation.

Gerald Lee Brandt, who was one of several defendants who accepted plea bargains early in the case, was sentenced before Judge Colin Bilash in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Brandt, 40, had to give up his bail license as part of the agreement. He also agreed to testify at any upcoming trials for remaining defendants in the case.

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