Key Takeaways
- James and Chico DeBarge were arrested on suspicion of drug possession after Burbank police stopped their unlicensed SUVs, which were connected by a tow strap.
- Officers said they found narcotics at the scene, impounded both vehicles, and also booked Chico on an outstanding warrant.
- The arrests add another difficult chapter to the DeBarge family’s history, which includes Motown success alongside publicly documented struggles with abuse and addiction.
A missing pair of license plates and a makeshift towing job led to James DeBarge and his brother, Chico DeBarge, being taken into police custody. The R&B singers were arrested on suspicion of drug possession after officers spotted them traveling through Burbank, California, in two SUVs connected by a tow strap at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Friday, August 28, according to NBC Los Angeles.
James, 63, was reportedly driving a Chevrolet Tahoe towing a Nissan SUV occupied by Chico, 60. Neither vehicle had a license plate, giving Burbank police an immediate reason to stop them. Officers said they found narcotics at the scene and arrested both brothers on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance. Police also said neither man was wearing a seatbelt.
The trouble did not end there for Chico, whose legal first name is Jonathan. He was also booked on an outstanding warrant, though authorities have not released any details about the underlying case. Both SUVs were impounded.
Police have not identified the substance allegedly recovered or said how much was found. NBC Los Angeles reached out to the brothers for comment but had not received a response at the time of its report.
The arrests put two members of one of R&B’s most famous—and famously troubled—families back in the spotlight. James joined his siblings in DeBarge as the Motown group found its groove in the early 1980s. With its polished harmonies and romantic records, the family act delivered hits including “I Like It,” “Time Will Reveal,” and “All This Love” before breaking into the pop mainstream with 1985’s “Rhythm of the Night.”
James also became part of pop-culture history through his brief marriage to Janet Jackson. The two eloped in 1984, when Jackson was 18, but the marriage was annulled the following year. Chico took a different route, launching a solo career with Motown in 1986 and later scoring an R&B comeback with albums including Long Time No See and The Game.
But the family’s success has long existed beside a much darker story. Multiple DeBarge siblings have publicly discussed growing up amid severe abuse and later battling substance addiction.
James appeared with Bunny and Randy DeBarge on TV One’s Unsung, where the family revisited the turmoil hiding behind its Motown image. In a 2008 NPR interview, Bunny said music “kept us together” as the siblings tried to survive a deeply unstable home life.
Chico has been especially direct about where that instability took him. His 2009 album Addiction confronted his substance-use disorder and arrived after he served time in prison on drug charges.
