Aug 25, 06:03 PM

Lil Nas X Pleads Not Guilty to Four Felony Counts After LA Arrest

Grammy-winning rapper Lil Nas X pleaded not guilty on Monday to four felony charges arising from a confrontation with Los Angeles police, court records show. The 26-year-old musician, legally named Montero Lamar Hill, entered his plea during an arraignment in Van Nuys Superior Court. Police say officers responded to Ventura Boulevard in Studio City shortly before 6 a.m. on 21 August after reports of a nude man in the roadway. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Hill charged at responding officers, injuring three, before he was subdued with a Taser, taken to a hospital for a suspected overdose and subsequently booked into jail. Prosecutors filed three counts of battery causing injury to a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer. If convicted, Hill faces a maximum sentence of about five years in state prison. Judge Sarah Ellenberg set bail at $75,000, required the performer to participate in an outpatient drug-treatment program and scheduled a preliminary hearing for 15 September. Defense attorney Christy O’Connor said there is no evidence Hill was under the influence of drugs, calling the episode "aberrant." Outside the courthouse, Hill’s father, Robert Stafford, said the artist is remorseful and intends to seek help.