Flavor Flav pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a Hempstead, N.Y. courtroom to charges he received during a traffic stop earlier this month as he headed to his mother's funeral.
According to the Associated Press, the rapper, whose real name is William Drayton, was pulled over on Jan. 9 for speeding and driving without a license on the Meadowbrook Parkway. Flav was ticketed for going 79 in a 55 mile per hour zone.
Officers also discovered that the rapper had 16 license suspensions for unpaid speeding tickets and marijuana possession. Flav was told to appear in court for his arraignment.
Alongside his attorney, Indji Bessim, Flav told Nassau County District Court Judge Norman St. George that he has reportedly been cleared of all 16 violations. The 54-year-old Public Enemy rapper and television personality was released on bail, but is scheduled to return to court on Friday.
After hugging family members and exiting the court, Flav told reporters that he hopes the charges would be dropped.
"I'm hoping they would have a heart and dismiss it all because of the circumstances," Flav said. "Because if it wasn't for me driving to my mother's funeral and being late getting to my mother's funeral, I wouldn't have been behind the wheel in the first place to get the charge."
Flav is currently charged with assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment with a weapon in Las Vegas, where he currently resides. He reportedly threatened his girlfriend's 17-year-old son with a butcher knife during a family argument.
The rapper has agreed to be on his best behavior; but if convicted, Flav could be sentenced to 12 years in prison.
