Vanilla Ice Arrested After Alleged Home Burglary in Fla.
Vanilla Ice, nee Robert Van Winkle, was arrested in Florida and charged with burglary and grand theft after police found items allegedly stolen from a foreclosed home at Van Winkle's residence.
The burgled home was adjacent to a house the ex-rapper was renovating as part of his television show for DIY Network called "The Vanilla Ice Project."
Ice Is [Not] Workin' It
According to police in Lantana, Florida, an investigation into possible squatting found that several items including furniture, a pool heater, bicycles and pieces of art were taken from the home of a recently deceased man. When officers encountered Vanilla Ice at the property, he told them he had purchased it. In fact, he had no contract or down payment, but was only filming renovations of the home next door.
Police then obtained a warrant to search Ice's Palm Beach home and found the missing items. Ice was arrested, booked into the Palm Beach County Jail, and later released on a $6,000 bond.
Following his release, he told Miami's WTVJ the entire episode was a "misunderstanding":
Hooked
Ice was charged with burglary and grand theft. Florida state statute 810.02 defines burglary as:
entering or remaining in a dwelling, a structure, or a conveyance with the intent to commit an offense therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the defendant is licensed or invited to enter or remain.
If convicted of burglary, the TV show host could face up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
The statutes on grand theft, 812.014, are more complicated, and the possible penalties will depend on the total value of the items stolen.
Yo Vanilla
This is far from Ice's first run-in with the law. Since the release of his iconic hit "Ice Ice Baby" in 1989, the entertainer has been arrested four times -- twice for domestic assault -- and pleaded guilty or no contest to offenses including brandishing weapons and disorderly conduct. He also paid fines after his pet wallaroo and pet goat escaped from his home and wandered his Port St. Lucie neighborhood for over a week.
It remains to be seen how his most recent arrest and charges will be resolved.
Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Facebook and Twitter (@FindLawConsumer).
Related Resources:
- Rapper Vanilla Ice Arrested on Burglary Charges in South Florida (Reuters)
- 'Hardcore Pawn' Stars Arrested Over Repawned Stolen Goods (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)
- Lindsay Lohan Felony Grand Theft Over Stolen Necklace (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)
- Randy Quaid Arrest: Found Squatting With Wife (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)