Black Rob (born Robert Ross) was arrested at 12:35 a.m. in New York Sunday (May 21) on drug and weapons charges. The thirty-one-year-old Bad Boy rapper was seen passing a .22-caliber gun to a man police later identified as twenty-eight-year-old Kwame Thomas, a spokesperson for the New York police department confirmed. Both suspects were immediately apprehended, whereupon police found the men in possession of a large quantity of Ecstasy.

Thomas and Rob have been charged with third-degree possession of a criminal weapon and possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, both men face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

According to the Manhattan District Attorney's office, Rob has been released on bail, but Thomas remains in police custody. Rob is to appear in court on Friday, May 26.

There is no word yet on whether the remaining dates for his solo tour will be cancelled. Bad Boy representatives were unavailable for comment.

GABRIELLE SCHAFER
(May 24, 2000)