Rick Ross pleads not guilty to felony battery by strangulation

Rick Ross pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a felony battery by strangulation charge and a misdemeanor battery charge after surrendering to Miami Beach police over an incident his accuser told investigators took place on Aug. 28.

The attorney for Ross, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts, submitted the not guilty plea on his behalf in court, and the judge ordered him to stay away from the accuser, who was not publicly identified, ABC News reported. Bond totaled $5,000, CBS News Miami reported.

Roberts and his attorney, Bradley Horenstein, filed a written plea of not guilty and demanded a jury trial, CBS12 reported, citing Miami-Dade County court records.

What the accuser told police

The woman went to the Miami Beach Police Department on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to report a domestic violence incident she said had happened on Aug. 28, according to the arrest affidavit described by CBS12. She told investigators that she and Roberts had been in a relationship for about a year and were living together at the time.

The woman said Roberts woke her that morning and was angry because she had been tagged in an Instagram photo. He questioned her about lying to him before slapping her in the face, the affidavit says.

She alleged that Roberts struck her in the chest several times and choked her by grabbing and twisting the collar of her hoodie, making it difficult for her to breathe. WSVN reported that she also said he struck her repeatedly after asking whether she had a relationship with someone else. She said he grabbed her ponytail, threw her into a wall and struck her in the face, leaving her with a busted lip.

The woman told police that Roberts then turned on the shower and tried to spray her with the shower head, and that she gathered her belongings and left the residence.

Police said the accuser reported that Ross struck her multiple times during an altercation and restricted her breathing by twisting the collar of her hoodie, and that she provided photo documentation of her injuries, ABC News reported. The alleged incident took place at a residence on Star Island, an exclusive neighborhood in Miami Beach.

Surrender, booking and release

Ross, 50, voluntarily surrendered at the Miami Beach Police Department on Thursday morning and was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 6:10 a.m., CBS News Miami reported. Online records listed one felony count of battery by strangulation and one misdemeanor count of battery, both marked as involving domestic violence.

Ross did not discuss the accusations with police when he turned himself in, and he remained in the Miami-Dade County jail while his legal team worked toward his release, NBC6 reported. Local 10 reported that he was later released from jail after posting bond.

The accuser has not been publicly identified, and CBS12 reported that it was not clear whether social media allegations made days earlier by Ross's former girlfriend, the model Jazzma Kendrick, were connected to Thursday's arrest.

A public accusation days earlier

Kendrick, 39, a model and content creator, alleged in a series of Instagram Stories posts on Saturday, Sept. 26, that Ross had been physically abusive toward her, CNN reported. She said that she left him after he injured her lip, and she later posted images of what she described as the injury.

The posts began after an Instagram user commented on her appearance, theGrio reported. Kendrick replied, "He saw a punching bag," and then posted to her Instagram stories a photograph of what appeared to be a bruised lip, with the caption, "The day Rick busted my lip and the day I left."

Two days later, Kendrick told followers that she was OK, that the incident had happened about a month earlier and that she had used the time to process it and begin healing, AllHipHop reported. She thanked people who had reached out to her. In her Sept. 26 posts she wrote, "If a man hits you one time, he will do it again," and told others in similar situations to leave.

I don't know a lot of things, but I do know that a man that puts his hands on me, is a man that never loved me and never will.

Kendrick and Ross had been linked since August 2025, when they were spotted together in Florida at a launch event for RR22, the rapper's luxury bag and accessories collection, AllHipHop reported. Kendrick told a fan on Instagram in September 2025 that the two had broken up, and they later rekindled the relationship, making a red carpet appearance at the 2026 BET Awards in June.

Lawyers for Ross deny the allegations

Attorneys for Ross, the rapper whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts, denied the allegations after his arrest on Thursday. Steve Sadow, one of the attorneys, also questioned the timing of the complaint in a statement, saying the woman did not file a police report until about a month after the alleged incident.

Mr. Roberts is innocent and has pled not guilty to the charges.

Kendrick had previously posted photographs of injuries she attributed to Ross. Police have not said whether those images are related to the charges.

Kendrick and Ross were last seen together in August, AllHipHop reported. The two had celebrated the release of "Set In Stone," the rapper's latest album, released in July.

Grammy nominations and public reaction

Ross, known for "Hustlin'," rose to fame with his 2006 debut studio album, "Port of Miami," and went on to start the record label Maybach Music Group, ABC News reported. He has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards.

Kendrick's allegations drew responses online, including from the rapper 50 Cent and from Tia Kemp, who shares a child with Ross, theGrio reported. Kemp addressed the allegations during a livestream without naming Kendrick, saying Ross had not physically assaulted her since 2006 and that she was not condoning domestic violence.

I'd laugh at him, but domestic violence is not a joke.

Roberts remains charged with one felony count of battery by strangulation and one misdemeanor count of battery, both listed in county records as involving domestic violence, with his arraignment scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233.