Coolio Arrested By German Police
Sunday November 23 11:12 AM ESTU.S. Rapper Coolio Arrested In Germany
STUTTGART, Germany, Nov 23 (Reuters) - German police have arrested U.S. rap singer Coolio over allegations that a 29-year-old shopowner was punched in the stomach during an incident at a boutique, security sources said.
German police said they had arrested eight people on Saturday over accusations that they had walked out of a shop in the south-western town of Boeblingen on Thursday wearing clothes for which they had not paid.
Security sources said the group included Coolio, the rapper known for international hits such as "Gangsta's Paradise" and "CU When U Get There."
They said Coolio had been released on bail after initial questioning on Thursday, but formally arrested on Saturday night after investigations revealed a "greater intensity of violence" than previously believed.
A judge had released him on increased bail of 100,000 marks ($57,500). Other
members of the group paid over 10,000 marks bail.
Coolio's most recent album, "My Soul," was released in the in August, and
has sold just 150,000 units in the U.S.
Source: Reuters/Variety from www.yahoo.com
Not so Coolio in Germany
Coolio's legal troubles in Germany are getting bigger. He was arrested Saturday night over allegations that a shop owner in the town of Boeblingen was punched in the stomach. The trouble started last week when the American rapper and seven people with him allegedly tried on some clothes in the shop and walked out without paying. Coolio was released on bail but formally arrested against Saturday night after investigations revealed what was termed a "greater intensity of violence" than previously believed.
Sunday November 23 11:37 PM EST
Reuters/Variety Entertainment Summary
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Nov. 20, 1997 Mainz Germany - A black man and his associates were spotted by a young clerk exiting a local clothing store. They were seen carrying merchandise that had not been paid for. The black man was Coolio, and the "suspicious merchandise" were gifts provided by that store as compensation for an autograph signing that had taken place there a day earlier. Nevertheless, whether motivated by ignorance, prejudice, or the simple desire to please her superiors, the young clerk courageously blocked the dangerous looking hoodlum at the door.Now rather than admitting to her mistake as would be expected after putting anyone (let a lone a multi-platinum recording star and philanthropist) through such a humiliating ordeal, the young store clerk has decided to take a different route. In spite of a store full of witnesses, and not a shred of physical evidence, she has now filed formal charges of assault against Coolio. What is even more distressing is that amidst this web of trumped up accusations the Mainz Germaa police have sided with the store clerk.
Although no formal charges have been filed, Coolio has been forced to put up a $150,000 purse in order to maintain his freedom. He is at this moment under interrogation by the local authorities. As anyone familiar with the Deutsche legal system might attest this can not be a pleasant ordeal for Coolio.
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