NEED TO KNOW
Lil Nas X was released from jail on Monday, Aug. 25, after being held there for the weekend.
The singer, born Montero Hill, was arrested on Thursday, Aug. 21, and later charged with a misdemeanor on accusations of assaulting a police officer in Los Angeles. He was also hospitalized for a possible overdose, though a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department was unable to confirm.
On Aug. 25, the musician appeared before a judge. He pleaded not guilty to four felony charges, including three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE.
Like Nas X, 26, remained in custody until he posted $75,000 bail later on Monday. He has since been released from jail.
The “Old Town Road” singer has a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 15. If convicted as charged, he faces up to five years in state prison, per the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Aug. 25 news release.
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The judge is requiring Lil Nas X to attend four Narcotics Anonymous meetings per week. Police have said they believe the rapper was under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest.
However, his attorney, Christy O’Connor, said it was too early to tell, as test results have not yet come back, per Associated Press. She went on to call the incident “an absolute aberration in his life. Nothing like this has ever happened to him.”
Before he posted bail, another attorney on Lil Nas X’s team, Drew Findling, told The Hollywood Reporter, “He’s never been in trouble for a split second in his existence, we’re not going to let one little event change the trajectory of his amazing life.”
“There’s no way to have a sense of what happened this immediately, but we’re going to look into it and do the right thing,” he continued, “Anybody that has kids, you hear about things like this all the time. Don’t forget, he’s 26 years old. It’s not unusual for something like this to happen, particularly when you have the pressure of being recognized internationally like him.”
On Thursday, Aug. 21, a spokesperson for the LAPD confirmed to PEOPLE that officers responded to reports of a man “nude in the street” on Ventura Blvd just before 6 a.m.
Multiple calls were made to law enforcement to report a possible overdose; however, the spokesperson was unable to confirm at the time.
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PEOPLE confirmed that the suspect was the “Industry Baby” musician and that he went on to allegedly “batter an officer, so he was booked for battery on a [peace officer],” the spokesperson said at the time.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
