PHOENIX -- Rapper DMX is out of jail on a $50,000 bond after deputies arrested him at a Phoenix mall Saturday evening on suspicion of identity theft, authorities said.
IMAGES: 8/25/07 - Deputies Raid Home Of Rapper DMXHe faces charges of one count of theft and one count of identity theft, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies said DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, gave a false name and Social Security number to a hospital to get out of paying a medical bill.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said that when DMX went to Scottsdale's Mayo Clinic in April, he used the name "Troy Jones" and failed to pay a $7,500 bill.
DMX's Scottsdale attorney, Cameron Morgan, declined to comment.
Arpaio said his office began investigating the charge following an animal neglect investigation last year at the 37-year-old rapper's north Phoenix home. DMX was arrested in that case on felony drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after authorities seized 12 pit bull dogs and dug up the remains of three others.
The musician/actor has had other recent run-ins with the law, including an arrest at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport earlier this month on outstanding warrants after he failed to appear in court.
The week before, he was arrested in Miami on charges of attempting to purchase cocaine and marijuana.
"He's back in jail again," Arpaio said. "I don't know why judges keep letting this guy out. Every time he goes in there, he gets out on bond.
"I'm hoping this is the one time he's going to pay the penalty for his offense," he added.
If DMX remained jailed, the sheriff had said he would be isolated from the rest of the inmates for his own safety. "They may not like his music," he said.
Recently, the rapper was arrested on charges of racing on a highway after speed cameras on a Phoenix-area freeway caught him going 114 mph, Arizona Department of Public Safety officers said.
He was booked on charges of racing on a highway, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment and three counts of criminal speed and driving on a suspended license.
DMX was photographed on Jan. 21 by stationary cameras on the northbound lanes of Loop 101 driving a 1966 Chevy Nova II at a speed of 100 mph, DPS officers said.
One minute later as his car reached Loop 101 at Cactus Road, cameras recorded his speed at 114 mph, officers said.
Less than three minutes later DMX was caught on camera at 101 mph, officers said. The posted speed limit is 65 mph.
VIDEO: Rapper Accused Of Speeding 114 MPH In June 2006, Scottsdale police cited him for carrying a concealed handgun outside a nightclub.
He served 70 days in jail in 2005 for violating his parole following a 2004 incident in which he posed as an undercover federal agent and crashed his sport utility vehicle through a security gate at Kennedy International Airport.
He was also fined and ordered to make public service announcements for the Humane Society after police found pipes for smoking crack cocaine, a pistol and 13 pit bulls at his home in Teaneck, N.J. in 1999. He pleaded guilty to animal cruelty, disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia in that case.
DMX recorded the 1999 hit single "Party Up (Up in Here)." His latest album, "Year of the Dog ... Again," was released last year.
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