Posted May 16, 2008

Rapper DMX has entered a not guilty plea to felony drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges yesterday. Because he was late for court, a judge entered the plea for DMX - real name Earl Simmons.

The 37-year-old rapper was indicted last week on 11 counts, including felony marijuana and paraphernalia possession and seven counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, according to Yahoo! News.

Last August authorities raided DMX's Phoenix home to investigate if he was neglecting 12 pit bulls. They found several dehydrated and underfed dogs, and three buried in the back yard.

The former Ruff Ryder has had previous run-ins with the law, including a 2004 incident in which he posed as an undercover federal agent and crashed his sport utility vehicle through a security gate at New York's Kennedy International Airport. And just last week DMX was arrested for racing his '66 Chevy along an Arizona highway.