MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — St. Louis rapper Nelly was arrested early Wednesday morning at the Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis after Missouri State Highway Patrol officers said they found him with drugs when they arrested him for an active warrant out for his arrest.

The rapper, whose birth name is Cornell Haynes II, had an active warrant out for his arrest for a previous charge of not having proof of vehicle insurance, according to the Maryland Heights Police Department. During his 4:45 a.m. arrest, officers searched him and found what they believed were four pills of ecstasy.

Haynes was taken to the Maryland Heights Police Department. He was released later on Wednesday.

The patrol said formal charges for felony possession of a controlled substance will be submitted to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

He is being represented by Scott Rosenblum, who told the Post-Dispatch he would send out a statement later Wednesday. He declined to comment otherwise.

The St. Louis rapper released hits like “Hot in Herre” and “Ride Wit Me.” He grew up in the St. Louis area and got involved with the music scene there in the 1990s.

The rapper has had a few run-ins with the law before this incident in Maryland Heights. Haynes was arrested in 2015 after authorities found marijuana on his tour bus in Tennessee. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession, but that was later cleared from his criminal record after he completed a diversion program.

The following year, TMZ reported he owed more than $2 million to the IRS.

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