Rick Ross can breathe a sigh of relief, well not in regards to Uncle Sam, or Birdman for that matter. The Miami rapper struck a plea deal in regards to a 2015 case where he was charged with kidnapping and pistol-whipping a groundskeeper Paid In Full -style at his Georgia mansion.
According to TMZ, Ross pled no contest to one felony count of aggravated assault. The other felony charges were dropped.
Tuesday, Judge Fletcher Sams forced the 41-year-old born William Leonard Roberts to pay $10,000 fine and credited him with time served. Somehow Ricky Rozay managed to spend a whole week in jail without anybody paying attention. The break for Ross? He’ll be registered as a first-time offender, meaning that the case will be removed from his record the moment he pays the $10,000 fine. The no contest plea also ensures that Ross’ trusty ankle monitor, the one heard on Rather You Than Me’s “Trap Trap Trap” will only have one album credit.
Additionally, Ross skated on an assortment of charges as he pled no contest to five (!) misdemeanor charges ranging from assault, battery, two counts of brandishing a firearm and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. The Fayette County judge sentenced Ross to 60 months of probation with no travel restrictions, another break for the Carol City Capo.
Miami rapper Rick Ross speaks w/ @cbs46 following exit from court after plea he receives probation relating to assault charges more at 11! pic.twitter.com/mc7lLICRo8
— Julian Johnson (@ChompJohnsonTV) April 4, 2017
Back in 2015, Ross and his bodyguard Nadrian Lateef James were arrested after allegedly assaulting Ross’ groundskeeper Jonathan Zamudio. The MMG leader was accused of holding the groundskeeper at gunpoint inside of his Georgia mansion and pistol-whipping him as Zamudio allegedly suffered injuries to his jaw and neck.
Both Ross & James were indicted a year later and during court hearings, Ross and his lawyers argued that Ross acted in self-defense, alleging that Zamudio had committed felonies at the Georgia mansion and Ross as property owner was justified in his actions. Apparently there are such things as “justified pistol-whippings.”.
Last week during opening arguments, prosecutors stated that Ross knew who was on the property at the time of the incident. According to WSB-TV, Zamudio lived on the property “full-time”.
The prosecutor argued that Ross gave his groundskeepers permission to have family over for a birthday celebration. The group included at least two small children.Prosecutors argue that Ross ran after one woman and her daughter who ran out during the dispute. “They exit the guesthouse and the defendant, William Roberts, was waiving a gun at her as she was seated in the car with her child,” the prosecutor said.
So Rick Ross is officially ankle monitor free, able to once more tell tale tales from the interior of a blacked out Maybach. Now if only William Roberts existed more in his catalog.
