“Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” cast member Lil Scrappy was ordered released from a DeKalb County Jail on Wednesday, but a judge imposed stricter conditions on probation terms from an earlier conviction.
The hip hop and rap artist, whose real name is Darryl Richardson, was taken into custody Monday for violating probation from a 2008 drug conviction. Conditions of the five years of probation he received didn’t require that he report regularly to a probation officer but they did require that he inform the officer of any address change, according to Erik Burton, a spokesman with the DeKalb district attorney’s office.
When a county probation officer tried to reach the reality TV star recently, he could not be found because he had changed his address. That’s when a warrant was issued and Richardson was arrested Monday around 5:38 p.m., Burton said.
Now Richardson will be required to regularly check in with a probation officer, although the frequency of the check-ins was not immediately available. The duration of probation, however, remains five years, which will be up in 2014, the DA spokesman said.
Richardson’s mother, Momma Dee, who appeared with him on VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” during its first season, was in court for her son’s hearing. His father, sister and fiancé, Erica Dixon, who also appears on the show, and other members of his family were also in court, Burton said.
Just after his arrest, he tweeted, “I just got locked up pray for me.” Later, someone identified as “management” tweeted from Lil Scrappy’s Twitter account: “Lil Scrappy is OK, we’re working to get him out asap. Please keep him in your prayers.” The tweet included the hashtag #FreeLilScrappy.
Richardson faced a variety of charges in 2008 in DeKalb, including weapons possession during a crime, marijuana possession, battery and obstruction of officers.
VH1’s popular “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” explores the volatile relationships of a host of cast members, including Lil Scrappy’s ties to his “baby mama” Erica Dixon, and with Grammy award-winning producer Stevie J.
In one scene, Scrappy and Stevie exchange blows after Stevie calls Dixon the “b” word. On the reunion show earlier this month, Lil Scrappy surprised Erica with a marriage proposal while his “other” lady Shay Johnson stormed off stage.
Lil Scrappy was discovered by rapper Lil John and was one of the first acts signed to his Black Market Entertainment Recordings, according to VH1. Scrappy’s first single, “Money in the Bank,” made it to No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His debut album was “Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live” in 2006. He later released “Prince of the South” in 2008 and “Prince of the South 2” in 2010.
He is an original cast member of “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,” which debuted in June with 1.9 million viewers, but its season finale drew a series high of 4.4 million, more than any episode of “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
The show returns next summer for a second season.
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