Rapper Faces Years in Prison After Being Charged With Assaulting Police Officers
Rapper Lil Nas X, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, has been charged with four felony counts after allegedly assaulting Los Angeles police officers who responded to a disturbance in Studio City last week, according to a press release from the Los Angeles District Attorney.
Hill, 26, of Van Nuys, faces three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in Van Nuys Superior Court. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15.
The incident occurred around 5:40 a.m. on August 21, when officers responded to reports of a naked man walking along Ventura Boulevard. Police said Hill charged at them when they attempted to detain him, injuring at least three officers in the process. He was taken to a hospital out of concern for a possible overdose, then booked into jail after several hours of observation.
Hill spent three days in custody before posting $75,000 bail, with conditions requiring him to participate in drug treatment. One of his attorneys, Christy O’Connor, told the court, “This was just an aberrant episode in an otherwise productive life.” She added, “There’s nothing in the record that drugs were even a part of this.”, as quoted by NBC Los Angeles.
The charges are more severe than initial reports, suggesting only misdemeanor allegations. If convicted on all counts, Hill faces up to five years in state prison.
The case is being prosecuted by the Van Nuys Branch of the District Attorney’s Office following an investigation by the LAPD’s North Hollywood Division.
