Rapper Nipsey Hussle arrested in Burbank with bottle of codeine, police say
Rapper Nipsey Hussle was arrested Wednesday in Burbank after officers found a bottle of codeine in his car during a traffic stop, police said.
Police stopped the 29-year-old rapper, born Ermias Asghedom, on suspicion of traffic violations at 11:20 p.m., at Ford Street and Magnolia Boulevard. Officers discovered he had an outstanding warrant for driving with a suspended license, Burbank police Lt. Adam Cornils said.
With his consent, officers searched his car. They found a bottle of codeine without a prescription label as well as a soft drink and a cup of ice -- ingredients used to make a highly potent drink, Cornils said.
“People who abuse codeine to get high commonly acquire it either from friends/associates or through fraudulent prescriptions, and remove the prescription label to mask where it came from and who it was prescribed to,” Cornils said.
The codeine, he said, is mixed with soft drinks.
Asghedom was unable to produce a prescription, Cornils said. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance, as well as for the outstanding warrant.
Asghedom was released after posting $1,000 bail.
The arrest wasn’t his first run-in with law enforcement.
Asghedom was arrested in Hyde Park in August last year on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a police officer, just days before he was scheduled to perform in the Made in America festival, authorities said.
In January, the L.A.-area rapper made headlines again after he leaked his album online for free, and charged $1,000 to those wanting one of only 100 hard copies released.
Staff writer Veronica Rocha contributed to this post.
Tchekmedyian writes for Times Community News.
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