R. Kelly Arrested In Chicago
R&B Grammy favorite Robert “R.” Kelly was
arrested for disorderly conduct Monday night after disobeying
Chicago police orders to turn down the stereo in his sport-utility
vehicle.
Kelly, 29, reportedly became abusive, and refused to produce a
driver’s license or adjust the volume in his 1998 Lincoln when
approached by police officers on North Clark Street — only two
blocks from JAMTV’s offices — at 9:30 p.m. Monday. He was arrested and charged with three counts of disorderly conduct and with violating the city’s noise
ordinance.
“He was being loud and obnoxious, and causing a crowd, so (the
police) just carried him out and took him to the 18th District,”
Chicago police spokeswoman Arlene Mays told
JAMTV on Wednesday.
After posting a $75 bond, Kelly fished his car out of the
impound lot at a charge of $500. His court date has been set for
May 7.
The Chicago native was reportedly playing a demo tape of music
from his next album, Kelly’s agent Regina Daniels
told the Chicago Tribune. The city’s noise ordinance
allows police to impound any car blasting music that can be heard
75 feet away, Mays said.
Despite attempts to contact the R. Kelly camp, no one was
available for comment at press time.
Kelly, 29, won three Grammy Awards in March for Best Male
R&B Performance, Best R&B Song and Best Song Written
Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television for his hit “I
Believe I Can Fly” from the soundtrack to the Michael
Jordan film Space Jam. He first became a
multiplatinum star with his 1992 debut album, Born into the
1990s, and has achieved notoriety with songs like “Honey
Love,” “You Body’s Callin'” and “She’s Got the Vibe.”
Raised in the Ida B. Wells housing development on Chicago’s
south side, Kelly sang in a Baptist church choir as a child and
recently proclaimed himself a born-again Christian.