ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Rapper Kodak Black was arrested this week on a drug trafficking charge in central Florida in his latest run-in with law enforcement.
The rapper, whose real name is Bill Kapri, was booked into the Orange County Jail on Wednesday on a felony charge of trafficking MDMA, the synthetic drug also known as ecstasy or molly.
Kapri, 28, entered a written plea of not guilty and asked for a jury trial on Thursday. He also waived appearing in person at a future arraignment hearing in state court. His bond was set at $75,000.
Kapri's arrest followed a police encounter in Orlando in November when officers were called to a neighborhood in Orlando by residents who reported hearing gunshots. Officers encountered a bunch of people hanging out around parked luxury sports utility vehicles, including Kapri, according to a police report.
An officer noticed a white substance on a $100 bill inside a Lamborghini SUV, which smelled of cannabis, giving the officer probable cause to search the vehicle. During the search, the officer found a pink bag containing a plastic bag of MDMA, $37,000 and numerous documents with Kapri's name on them, the police report said.
The pink bag matched a bag seen in a photo of Kapri that the rapper had posted to his Instagram account. The bag also contained a distinct lighter that also was in the photo, investigators said.
According to the police report, everyone at the scene denied owning the bag, including Kapri, who nevertheless said the money belonged to his business and asked for it back.
Ambrosia Healy and Kevin Young, who represent Kapri at Universal Music Group, didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
Kapri has faced previous legal issues.
In 2023, police in Plantation, Florida arrested Kapri after finding him asleep at the wheel with white powder around his mouth, officials said. Although authorities said the powder initially tested positive for cocaine, a lab test later revealed it was oxycodone, for which Kapri obtained a prescription.
The arrest was a violation of his probation from an unrelated case, which led to him being locked up in Miami for two months.
Kapri was also arrested in 2022 on charges of trafficking in oxycodone and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He was freed on bond with regular drug testing as a condition of his release. Kapri was ordered into drug rehab for 30 days in 2023 after missing a drug test and then testing positive for fentanyl several days later, according to court records.
In January 2021, then-President Donald Trump commuted a three-year federal prison sentence the rapper had for falsifying documents used to buy weapons. Kapri had served about half his sentence.
As Kodak Black, Kapri has sold more than 30 million singles, with massive hits such as “Super Gremlin,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022.
This story has been updated to correct rapper Kodak Black's arrest stems from November, not December, encounter with police in Florida.
Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.
FILE - Kodak Black arrives at the American Music Awards on Nov. 20, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (AP) — Scientists specializing in human decomposition and soil took samples from the ground Thursday outside a home connected to the man convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996. Her body was never found.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant Wednesday on the home of Susan Flores, whose son Paul Flores was convicted in 2022 of killing Smart. Authorities have not answered questions about what prompted the search.
Tim Nelligan, an expert in soil vapor testing, confirmed by phone Thursday that he was on the premises, gathering samples from the yards of Flores and a neighbor. He said is team has, in general, “come up with a methodology to assess soil vapor" and its relation to “human cadaver decomposition,” but that he could not discuss the current investigation.
Smart went missing from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996 after returning from an off-campus party. Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Paul Flores, a fellow student. She was declared legally dead in 2002.
The decades-old case has captivated the public, fueled in part by a podcaster who helped investigators by bringing forward additional witnesses. Chris Lambert of the “Your Own Backyard” podcast first reported the search of the home in the central coast town of Arroyo Grande, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.
Attempts to reach Susan Flores for comment Wednesday and Thursday were not successful. She has never faced criminal charges related to the case.
Nelligan and other scientists poked instruments into the soil and pulled up long tubing. Soil vapor sampling, which is an evolving science, involves collecting underground gas samples to detect volatile organic compounds associated with human decomposition.
Lambert, the podcaster, said he did not know much about the search, but was optimistic investigators could locate Smart's body. He said past searches of Susan Flores' home have never been thorough.
“This property in particular has been overlooked for quite some time," he said Thursday in front of the house.
Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, were arrested in 2021.
Prosecutors alleged Smart’s remains were buried on Ruben Flores’ property and later moved. He was acquitted of accessory charges. That property is different from the one currently being searched.
Paul Flores was sentenced in March 2023 to prison, where he has been physically attacked at least twice.
In 2024, a judge ruled that Paul Flores must pay just over $350,000 to Smart's family for costs they incurred after her death.
The family has said it would forgo restitution if Flores would tell them where the woman's body was. Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said in 2024 that the defense did not know where her remains are. Flores maintains his innocence.
The county district attorney’s office said Wednesday it was helping the sheriff's office with the investigation.
“While those responsible for Kristin’s death — and those with knowledge of her whereabouts — could provide answers at any time, we remain firmly committed to using every lawful tool available to locate Kristin’s remains and to support her family until she is brought home,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in a statement.
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This version corrects the spelling of Tim Nelligan's name on second reference.
Authorities take samples from the soil Thursday, May 7, 2026, from the neighboring yard of a home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
Authorities take samples from the soil Thursday, May 7, 2026, from the front yard of a home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
Authorities take samples from the soil Thursday, May 7, 2026, from the neighboring yard of a home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
FILE - Paul Flores listens during his murder trial in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas, Calif., on July 18, 2022. (Daniel Dreifuss/Monterey County Weekly via AP, Pool, File)
FILE - This undated photo released by the FBI shows Kristin Smart, the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo student who disappeared in 1996. (FBI via AP, File)
This photo provided by San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office shows authorities conducting a search on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at a home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office via AP)
