Rick Ross Arrested in Miami on Domestic Violence Charges

MIAMI — Rick Ross was arrested early Thursday morning in Miami on domestic violence charges, according to Miami-Dade County jail records. The rapper, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts II, faces one count of felony battery by strangulation and one count of misdemeanor battery.

Ross, 50, was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center around 6 a.m. on October 1. He was released on approximately $5,000 bond. A judge issued a stay-away order as a condition of his release, barring him from contacting the alleged victim.

The charges stem from allegations made by Ross’s former girlfriend, Jazzma Kendrick, a 39-year-old model and content creator. According to the arrest report, Kendrick told Miami Beach police that the alleged assault took place on August 28 at a residence on Star Island. She said Ross slapped her in the face repeatedly, struck her in the chest several times, grabbed her by the ponytail and slammed her against a wall. She also alleged that Ross choked her using her hoodie collar until she could not breathe.

Kendrick first went public with the allegations on September 26, posting photos to her Instagram stories showing an injured lip. “The day Rick busted my lip and the day I left,” she wrote. She filed a formal police report on September 29, providing timestamped photographic evidence, according to the arrest affidavit.

Ross surrendered to authorities and has pleaded not guilty to both charges. His defense attorney, Steve Sadow, denied the allegations in a statement, saying Ross “is being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose true motivations are unclear.”

“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.”— Steve Sadow, attorney for Rick Ross

An arraignment is scheduled for October 22. At a bond hearing Thursday, Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer set the conditions of Ross’s release, including the stay-away order covering direct contact, contact through third parties, and social media.

Ross is one of hip-hop’s most enduring figures — the Maybach Music Group founder behind “Hustlin’,” “Aston Martin Music,” and a catalog spanning nearly two decades. He is a longtime Miami resident with a mansion on Star Island in Miami Beach.

These are allegations. Ross has not been convicted of any crime in this case. We will update this story as it develops, including coverage of the October 22 arraignment.

The timeline of how this reached police is now clearer across the reporting. Per TMZ, via Consequence, Kendrick contacted law enforcement on Tuesday, September 29, and Ross subsequently surrendered voluntarily to authorities — he was not picked up in a raid. The alleged incident dates to the morning of August 28. PEOPLE reports that Kendrick and Ross had been in a relationship for about a year and were living together at the time. According to TMZ's law-enforcement sources, Kendrick told police she was asleep when Ross woke her in what the outlet described as a jealous rage over a social media photo she had been tagged in — accusing her of being in a relationship with someone else and, she alleged, striking her every time she denied it.

Kendrick's own words, posted to her Instagram stories on September 26, framed why she went public: '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,' she wrote alongside a photo showing her injured lip. In another story she added: 'It's always good until it isn't. If a man hits you one time, he will do it again. Don't give him the opportunity. Value your life and leave.' The posts landed three days before she filed the formal report with Miami Beach police, providing timestamped photographic evidence, according to the arrest affidavit. She has not responded to press requests for comment since.

On the bond figures, the reporting varies slightly and it's worth being precise: Consequence and the Palm Beach Post report a combined $6,000 total — $5,000 on the felony battery-by-strangulation count and $1,000 on the misdemeanor battery count — while CNN reported bail set at $5,000 and USA Today reported a $1,000 bond. What's consistent across every outlet: Ross was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in the early hours of October 1, posted bond, and was released. Judge Mindy Glazer's stay-away order covers direct contact, contact through third parties, and social media. Ross is represented by attorneys Steve Sadow and Bradley Horenstein; Horenstein has filed a written plea of not guilty, and the arraignment is set for October 22.

The reason this arrest lands the way it does is the size of the figure at its center. Ross — William Leonard Roberts II, 50 — is one of the most durable brands in hip-hop: the former correctional officer turned rap mogul who broke through with 'Hustlin'' in 2006, built the Maybach Music Group empire (founded 2008; home at various points to Meek Mill and Wale), and turned the Biggest Boss persona into a two-decade catalog spanning Teflon Don, 'Aston Martin Music,' and a Wingstop franchise portfolio that became its own business-school case study. He's a longtime Miami resident — the Star Island mansion in Miami Beach where the alleged incident took place, per CBS News, and the palatial Atlanta estate he's dubbed 'The Promise Land,' per CNN. For more on the Miami hip-hop scene he helped define, see our coverage of Yung Miami and the Migos reunion watch.

What happens next is procedural. The October 22 arraignment will formalize the charges and set the case's direction; the stay-away order remains in effect as a pretrial condition. Ross's team has asked the public not to prejudge the case while the judicial process runs its course. These remain allegations — Ross has pleaded not guilty and has not been convicted of any crime in this case. We'll continue updating this story as it develops, including full coverage of the arraignment.