Former MTV star Chopper has been arrested on felony sex trafficking charges.
The 35-year-old rapper, who appeared on Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ show Making the Band 2, was taken into custody in Maryland earlier this month and is being extradited to Las Vegas to face charges, according to a report by TMZ on Monday.
Legal documents obtained by the media outlet stated that Chopper used Instagram to contact an undercover vice detective in Nevada, who was posing as a sex worker.
The Da Band alum – real name: Kevin Barnes – allegedly direct-messaged the undercover officer with an offer to make money through prostitution.
The detective also found several posts on the reality star’s Instagram account in which he showed off his wealth and alluded to being a ‘pimp’.
In one image, Chopper was seen making a phone call while seated on a private jet.
‘sending em,’ he wrote in the caption of the post, along with emojis of a money bag and a crown.
After discovering social media evidence of a potential sex trafficking operation, the undercover officer launched a full investigation of the television personality.
The documents stated that Chopper called the undercover officer and ‘bragged about frequent travel and having seven homes across the country, including one in Las Vegas.’
He also allegedly cautioned the detective that Las Vegas was not ‘a safe place to do business because law enforcement was cracking down.’
Chopper allegedly conducted a phone interview with the undercover officer, in which he said he would ‘make them part of his “team” and “stable.”‘
The undercover agent stated that Chopper became aggressive during the call and was ‘ordering them around like he might do to a sex worker.’
He also allegedly told the officer to pack their bags, go to the airport and meet him in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they would join his ‘stable’.
The undercover detective stated that they stalled by telling Chopper that they were afraid to leave home.
According to documents, Chopper allegedly tried to ‘verbally force them to make the trip, getting angry and demanding a $2,000 fee.’
With the rapper’s alleged Instagram direct messages, his social media posts, the phone call, and the $2,000 fee demand, the undercover detective stated that they had gathered enough evidence to arrest him on felony sex trafficking charges.
Representatives for Chopper have not yet provided a statement.
Chopper starred in three seasons of Making the Band 2 from 2002 to 2004.
In the reality show, Diddy searched the nation for talented rappers and singers in order to create a new hip-hop group.
Chopper was chosen for the new group Da Band along with Sara Stokes, Dylan Dilinjah, Frederick ‘Freddy P’ Watson, Lloyd ‘Ness’ Mathis, and Lynese ‘Babs’ Wiley.
Diddy dissolved Da Band at the end of the third season but he signed Chopper, who is also known as ‘Young City’, to his label Bad Boy South as a solo recording artist.
The New Orleans native later released his single Lil Daddy, which was featured on the soundtrack of the 2005 film Hustle & Flow.
Chopper went on to tour with Chris Brown and Trey Songz in 2004.
However, he has faced several legal woes over the years including being arrested on robbery and gun charges.
In 2012, Chopper told MTV that he had asked Diddy to release him from his contract in 2005.
He also said that he was shot at a Michigan gas station during an attempted robbery while he was sitting in his Lamborghini ahead of a 2012 concert in Chicago.
Source: Daily Mail
