California residents may know Earl Simmons by his stage name DMX, but the New York City Sheriff’s Office apparently knows him as a man who failed to pay $400,000 worth of child support among other things. According to a representative of the office, the rapper had multiple outstanding issues that led to his arrest on June 26.
The entertainer was detained because of delinquent child support payments, a bail jumping warrant from White Plains and criminal accusations. One of the accusations involves a robbery complaint from Newark, New Jersey, where DMX is listed as a suspect in an April 5 gas station robbery, but charges have not been filed in this case so far. The unpaid child support warrant comes from the Erie County Family Court.
DMX was supposed to perform at the Masters of Ceremony concert at Radio City Music Hall at 8 p.m. in Manhattan. However, he was arrested by Manhattan deputies in the city at 10:30 p.m.
Child support laws are established on the state level, and any mother or father required to pay child support could fail to make payments for a variety of reasons and face consequences. It is important to note that failing to make payments when one legitimately cannot afford to pay is not uncommon, but the parent should ask for a child support modification if financial circumstances have adversely changed and making the same payments is no longer possible. Parents who find themselves in these types of situations might wish to contact a family law attorney for assistance.
Source: WPIX 11, “Rapper DMX arrested in New York City“, Samantha Tata, June 27, 2015