Prosecutors Drop Felony Strangulation Charge Against Rick Ross

Prosecutors will not pursue a felony battery-by-strangulation charge against the rapper Rick Ross, according to Rolling Stone. He will instead face a single charge of misdemeanor battery and domestic violence.

Rick Ross is the stage name of William Leonard Roberts II. A misdemeanor is a less serious class of criminal offence than a felony, and it is usually tried in a lower court. Roberts has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge, the same report says.

The case started with an incident on Aug. 28 at Roberts' home on Star Island, in Miami Beach, Florida. A woman who said she was his live-in girlfriend told police that Roberts slapped her, restricted her breathing by twisting the collar of her hoodie, and hit her against a wall. These are allegations. Roberts has not been convicted of any of them.

Miami Beach Police spokesman Christopher Bess said investigators had gathered a victim statement, photographs of injuries and surveillance video. Bess said those materials established probable cause for the arrest, meaning police had enough grounds to make it. Roberts then turned himself in to Miami Beach Police to face the domestic violence charges. That was nearly a month before the felony count was dropped.

When the case began, Roberts faced more serious counts, including battery by strangulation and felony battery. Those charges have since been dropped, and only the misdemeanor count remains. NBC Miami reports that he is scheduled to be arraigned on the misdemeanor battery charge, the stage at which a defendant formally responds to the charge in court.

For anyone following Rick Ross's career, the case is a legal matter separate from his music. It has no set trial date, and no sentence has been handed down. The next public step is the arraignment. Any change to the charge, or any plea deal, would come through the court record and be reported from there.