Rapper Flavor Flav arrested in Las Vegas with marijuana, alcohol in car

Reuters –Rap star Flavor Flav was arrested on Thursday in Las Vegas on suspicion of driving under the influence, after he was pulled over for speeding and was found with marijuana and an open container of alcohol in his BMW, a Nevada state trooper said.

Flavor Flav, who rose to fame in the 1980s as a rapper with the politically oriented group Public Enemy, was traveling 73 miles per hour (117 kph) in a 45-mile-per-hour (72-kph) zone on Interstate 15 when he was stopped shortly after midnight, said Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Trooper Loy Hixson.

The 56-year-old rapper, who was born William Drayton Jr., was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, marijuana possession, having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, driving with a suspended vehicle registration and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, Hixson said.

He posted bail of $7,000 to be released from jail later on Thursday, Hixson said.

A spokesman for the Long Island, New York-born Flavor Flav declined to immediately comment on the arrest.

Results are pending on a blood alcohol test to determine how intoxicated Flavor Flav might have been, Hixson said.

Flavor Flav’s attention-grabbing wardrobe features a giant clock that he wears around his neck and a Viking helmet.

The rapper in the last decade has starred on cable television in a number of reality shows and comedies.

Public Enemy, which also features Chuck D, most recently released a studio album in 2012 with “The Evil Empire of Everything.” Its biggest-selling albums include “Fear of a Black Planet” and “It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back.”