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Dr. Dre arrested for alleged gun possession
Dr. Dre, who made his name rapping about police brutality before becoming one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in music, was handcuffed by sheriff’s deputies in a dispute near his home, officials said.
Sheriff’s deputies headed Monday to Dr. Dre‘s exclusive house on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu after receiving a complaint from a motorist who parked outside the home.
The motorist had alleged that the 51-year-old rap mogul, whose real name is Andre Young, pulled a gun on him as he demanded that he leave.
“Due to the nature of the call, the person was searched, handcuffed and briefly detained in a patrol car while deputies investigated the incident,” the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department said in a statement.
But deputies did not find any gun on Dr. Dre, an executive at Apple, who said he had been reaching for his phone to record the incident.
The motorist, however, insisted that Dr. Dre threatened him and pursued a citizen’s arrest, which is allowed under California law when a private individual witnesses a crime.
The sheriff’s department said it gave Dr. Dre a citation in connection with the citizen’s arrest but did not take any further action.
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Dr. Dre is one of the wealthiest people in the music industry with Apple in 2014 buying his Beats company, best known for its high-end headphones, for $3 billion.
Born in the rough Los Angeles County city of Compton, Dr. Dre rose to stardom with gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A. where he was in charge of the sound.
N.W.A. shocked much of white America with its unyielding criticism of law enforcement’s treatment of minorities, notably on the 1988 song “Fuck tha Police.”
After N.W.A., Dr. Dre went on to become a successful solo artist and producer, notably championing Eminem, but in the past decade has focused on corporate life.
Last year he released “Compton,” which he said would be his final album, to accompany a biopic on N.W.A., “Straight Outta Compton.”
The incident with Dr. Dre comes amid a renewed spotlight on police around the United States after a series of killings by officers of African Americans.