Is DMX in Jail? His Arrests, Tax Case, and Death

DMX is not in jail. The rapper, born Earl Simmons, died on April 9, 2021, at White Plains Hospital in New York at the age of 50, a week after a cocaine-induced heart attack cut off blood flow to his brain.¹ He never regained consciousness after being hospitalized on April 2, 2021.²

The question comes up often because DMX spent long stretches of his adult life behind bars. From the mid-1990s through 2019 he was arrested dozens of times and served jail or prison sentences in New York, California, Arizona, and West Virginia on charges ranging from drug possession and animal cruelty to reckless driving, impersonating a federal agent, and federal tax evasion. At the time of his death, however, he was free, having been released from federal custody in January 2019.³

How DMX Died

Emergency services were called to DMX’s location at 10:03 p.m. on April 2, 2021. Paramedics restored a pulse by 10:10 p.m., but the cardiac arrest had already caused irreversible brain damage. He was declared brain-dead early in his hospitalization and remained on a ventilator for a week before being pronounced dead on April 9.²

The Westchester County medical examiner determined the cause of death was acute cocaine intoxication, confirmed by urinalysis, which triggered the heart attack. No autopsy was performed.²

His History of Incarceration

DMX’s time behind bars started early and spanned decades.

Juvenile Detention (1986)

His first known incarceration came in 1986, at roughly age 15, when he was sent to the juvenile unit of Woodfield Prison in Valhalla, New York, for stealing a dog from a junkyard. He received a two-year sentence, escaped briefly after a few weeks, and was returned by his mother to finish the term at the McCormick Juvenile Detention Centre in Brooktondale, New York.⁴

Westchester County (2004)

DMX served 70 days in jail after being clocked at 104 mph in a 65 zone in Westchester County in 2004, one of at least 15 driving-related arrests between 2000 and 2013.⁵

Los Angeles (2010)

A 2002 reckless driving charge in Los Angeles, reduced from a DUI, went unresolved for years. DMX eventually turned himself in and served 90 days in 2010.⁵

Arizona Prison (2010–2011)

In December 2008, DMX entered a plea deal in Maricopa County covering several cases, pleading guilty to one count each of animal cruelty, theft, marijuana possession, and narcotics possession. More than a dozen other charges were dismissed.⁶ He was sentenced in January 2009 to 90 days in jail, 18 months of supervised probation, and bans on owning animals or possessing firearms.⁷

He violated that probation in 2010 after being expelled from a drug treatment program for drinking alcohol at a Scottsdale performance, and he was also accused of failing to submit to drug tests and driving on a suspended license.⁸ In December 2010, a Maricopa County court revoked his probation and sentenced him to one year in prison, crediting 113 days already served.⁹ He was released on July 19, 2011.¹⁰ About a month later he was pulled over in Arizona doing 102 mph and arrested again for speeding, reckless driving, and driving on a revoked license.¹¹

The Federal Tax Evasion Case

DMX’s most prominent and most recent prison sentence came out of a federal tax fraud case in the Southern District of New York. In 2017, he was charged with evading income taxes from 2010 through 2016, involving approximately $1.7 million in unpaid liabilities. Prosecutors alleged he had also failed to file taxes on at least $2.3 million in earnings during that period.¹²

He pleaded guilty on November 30, 2017.¹² While awaiting sentencing on bail, he tested positive in January 2018 for cocaine, opiates, and oxycodone. Judge Jed Rakoff called him a “genuine flight risk” who had “repeatedly lied” about complying with bail conditions and revoked his bail.¹³ His attorney, Murray Richman, said DMX had left a drug rehabilitation center to visit his hospitalized infant daughter.¹⁴

On March 28, 2018, Judge Rakoff sentenced DMX to one year in prison, three years of supervised release, and restitution of $2,292,200 to the IRS, calling the fraud “brazen and blatant.”¹⁵ He served his sentence at the Gilmer Federal Correctional Institution in West Virginia and was released on January 25, 2019.³ That was his last incarceration.

What’s Happening With His Estate Now

DMX died without a will, survived by 14 children, and his estate has been in litigation ever since. Temporary letters of administration were initially granted to three of his adult children with Tashera Simmons: Xavier, Tacoma, and Sean. A 2022 settlement added his ex-fiancée Desiree Lindstrom and daughter Sasha Simmons as administrators.¹⁶

In March 2024, Lindstrom and Sasha Simmons filed a petition to remove the three brothers, alleging they had attempted to transfer the estate’s intellectual property rights to Tashera Simmons without proper authority. The Surrogate’s Court suspended the three in April 2024, and the agreement they had tried to execute was later declared void.¹⁶

Tashera Simmons separately sued the estate, arguing that her 2016 divorce settlement entitled her to 50% ownership of DMX’s copyrights, trademarks, and likeness rights. On April 7, 2025, Westchester County Supreme Court Judge David F. Everett ruled against her, declaring the estate the “sole owner of all intellectual property rights” and finding that the divorce agreement granted her royalty payments, not ownership of the underlying assets. The judge allowed her claim for roughly $214,000 in alleged unpaid child and spousal support to proceed.¹⁷

In May 2025, the estate challenged an unauthorized auction of early DMX memorabilia hosted by GottaHaveRockandRoll, which included handwritten lyrics, vintage footage, and unreleased recordings from 1992 to 1994. The estate said the sale violated its intellectual property rights and said it would pursue legal action. Tashera Simmons called the auction “disheartening and insensitive,” arguing the items should go to DMX’s children.¹⁸ A posthumous album, DMX Features, collecting unreleased collaborations with artists including Wiz Khalifa, Kevin Gates, and Joyner Lucas, is scheduled for release in the summer of 2025.¹⁹

1
Fox 8 Live. Rapper DMX’s Official Cause of Death Revealed
2
Vulture. DMX Cause of Death
3
CNN. DMX Released From Prison
4
BlackPast. DMX (Earl Simmons) 1970-2021
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Complex. A Complete History of DMX’s Driving Arrests
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Los Angeles Times. DMX Reaches a Plea Deal in Animal Cruelty, Drug Charges
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Hollywood Reporter. DMX Sentenced to 90 Days in Prison
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Cape Cod Times. Rapper DMX Sentenced to Prison
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Billboard. DMX Sentenced to One Year in Arizona Prison
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BBC Newsbeat. DMX Arrested for Speeding and Suspended Licence
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Billboard. DMX Arrested for Speeding, Suspended License
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U.S. Department of Justice. Recording Artist and Performer DMX Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 1 Year in Prison for Tax Fraud
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Courthouse News Service. DMX Imprisoned as Flight Risk After Positive Drug Test
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ABC 7 NY. DMX Jailed After Positive Drug Test Ahead of Tax Evasion Sentencing
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NBC New York. DMX Gets Prison for Tax Evasion
16
Justia. Simmons v Lindstrom, 2025 NY Slip Op 50460(U)
17
Billboard. DMX Ex-Wife Half Music Catalog Judge Rules
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TMZ. DMX First Auction Since Death Unreleased Music
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Rolling Stone. Posthumous DMX Album New Song Joyner Lucas