SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX Carolina) -
Rapper DMX has been released from a South Carolina jail after spending five hours locked up following an arrest Wednesday.
DMX, who's real name is Earl Simmons, was booked into the Spartanburg County jail around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. He was charged with driving without a license.
Simmons went before a judge at 6 a.m. and was released a short time later after paying a fine.
After leaving the jail, he said an officer spotted him at a local gas station, followed him a short distance then pulled him over. He said he was arrested because he did not have a license.
"When I could have just paid the money right there on the spot," Simmons said. "Basically it was just five hours wasted for nothing. I don't have a court date or a court appearance."
He said he also had his five-month-old daughter in the car when he was arrested.
According to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office report, a deputy recognized Simmons at the Li'l Cricket on Gap Creek Road just before 1 a.m.
Deputies said after he went inside the store, he came back outside and got in the driver's seat then drove away.
Deputies said Simmons had been issued tickets in Greer and Duncan, accused of driving without a license, and a state DMV search showed he only had a state identification card on him.
After pulling him over, deputies said the car was turned over to a licensed passenger riding in the car.
In late 2011 Simmons said that he planned to relocate to South Carolina. Since then, he has been spotted by fans at several area restaurants and businesses.
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Rapper DMX talks with FOX Carolina after he's released from jail. (Feb. 13, 2013/FOX Carolina)
Earl Simmons, better known as rapper DMX. (Spartanburg Co. Detention Center)
