Flavor Flav charged with domestic battery in Nevada

HENDERSON, Nev. — Public Enemy co-founder Flavor Flav intends to fight a misdemeanor domestic battery charge stemming from an altercation with his girlfriend at his suburban Las Vegas home, the entertainer’s attorneys said Tuesday.

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Officials with the Henderson Police Department confirmed to KVVU-TV that the former rapper and reality TV star, whose legal name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., was arrested Oct. 4 following a report of a domestic disturbance at around 11:40 p.m. in the city’s Green Valley neighborhood.

Records show Drayton was released from jail Oct. 5 on $3,000 bond with an Oct. 25 court date.

According to the criminal complaint, Drayton, 62, is accused of grabbing or poking the woman in the face and of wrestling a phone from her possession, the TV station reported.

The alleged victim, whose name was redacted in the complaint, was identified in court and police documents as a person with whom Drayton has a dating relationship and a minor child in common, KVVU reported.

Their son told police that he stepped in to stop the scuffle when his parents separated and his mother lunged toward Drayton, according to a police report. Officers reported a small cut on the side of the woman’s face “consistent with an altercation taking place.”

The Law Offices of Chesnoff and Schonfeld are representing Drayton, a 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and released the following statement obtained by KTNV: “In alleged domestic violence cases, there are often two sides to the story, and we will explain our side in the courtroom, not in the media.”

Drayton’s criminal history includes arrests and convictions on traffic infractions; a month in jail for assaulting his then-girlfriend in 1991; and three months behind bars for shooting at a neighbor in New York in 1993.

An October 2012 incident led to his arrest on several felony charges after he was accused of wielding knives, chasing and threatening his then-fiancee’s 17-year-old son at their home in Las Vegas. That case was closed in 2014, after Drayton pleaded guilty to reduced charges of misdemeanor attempted battery, served probation and completed a required domestic violence counseling course.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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