Grand theft and burglary charges against the rapper have been dropped as he agreed to do 100 hours of community service and pay $1,333 in restitution.
- April 3, 2015
AceShowbiz -
Vanilla Ice must have a really good legal team. His lawyers Bradford Cohen and Joe Lorusso managed to work on a deal with the prosecutor to have grand theft and burglary charges against their client dropped, as long as he stays out of trouble for the next 9 months.
In return, the rapper has to complete 100 hours of community service with Habitat for Humanity. Additionally, he is ordered to pay $1,333 in restitution. Once he meets all the terms mentioned above, his record is wiped clean.
Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, was accused of stealing a pool heater, bicycles and other belongings from a Florida home that is in foreclosure proceedings. He was filming a home-improvement show, DIY Network's "The Vanilla Ice Project", and was renovating a home next to the victim's house at the time.
He initially said that the items he took were by the curb, but it was later revealed that he was really inside the house. He called the incident a "misunderstanding; it was blown out of proportion."
Commenting on the plea deal, he told The Palm Beach Post, "I'm glad to have this behind me." His lawyer Bradford Cohen believes the "Ice Ice Baby" hitmaker "will have no problems completing the community service because he averages 40-60 hours a month already." He additionally told E! News, "Good things happen to good people, that's why there was such a great resolution in this case."
