LI's Flavor Flav arrested on domestic battery charge in Nevada
Flavor Flav's attorney told Newsday of the domestic battery charge: "[W]e will explain our side in the courtroom and not in the media." Credit: Invision / AP / Charles Sykes
Rapper Flavor Flav, formerly of the groundbreaking Long Island hip-hop group Public Enemy, was arrested on a charge of domestic battery earlier this month in Nevada, where he lives.
TMZ.com on Tuesday, citing a Clark County criminal complaint it obtained, said the Roosevelt-born and Freeport-raised Flav, 62, né William Drayton Jr., was arrested by police in Henderson, Nevada, near Las Vegas, on Oct. 5. He allegedly poked his finger on a woman's nose, threw her down and took a phone from her hand.
The City Attorney told TMZ that Flav was taken to jail and charged with misdemeanor battery constituting domestic violence. Flav's attorney, David Chesnoff of the Las Vegas firm Chesnoff & Schonfeld, who was raised in Bayville and Sea Cliff and graduated from North Shore High School in 1973, told Newsday in an email that "in alleged domestic violence cases, there are often two sides to the story and we will explain our side in the courtroom and not in the media."
In 1991, Flav pleaded guilty to domestic violence against his then-girlfriend Karen Ross. He again pleaded guilty to domestic violence in 2014 for using a knife to threaten his then-fiancee Elizabeth Trujillo's 17-year-old son. On Long Island, he was arrested in January 2014 on charges including unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and marijuana possession, stemming from a speeding arrest on the Meadowbrook State Parkway.
Flav on Tuesday posted across his social media that he has been sober one year, writing, "1 year up,,, lotz more to go,,, next year I pray my whole family will be walkin the same path I am,,, #sobriety #alcoholfree #1yearsober #dontbelievethehype." On Flav's Instagram account, producer-musician and "Tonight Show" musical director Questlove commented, "Proud of you bro." Rapper Xzibit wrote, "Love you G!! You're one of my hero's [sic]. Glad you are feeling powerful in your sobriety. Keep going."
His Instagram post also received a comment from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group Public Enemy, which had fired him in March 2020, prompting acrimony. The supportive post consisted of four emoji representing strength, prayer and, through a raised fist, defiance in the face of adversity.
Public Enemy was formed by Roosevelt-raised Chuck D (né Carlton Ridenhour) after he and Flav met while both attended Adelphi University in Garden City. Flav went on to a reality-TV career, starring in shows including "The Surreal Life" and "Flavor of Love."
