Gunplay’s legal troubles continue to mount.
According to TMZ, the 44-year-old rapper was arrested Wednesday after violating a restraining order granted to his estranged wife, Vonshae Taylor-Morales. Insiders told the outlet that Gunplay — born Richard Welton Morales — was on his way to his ex’s home when the Florida Department of Corrections Community Control received a ping from his ankle monitor. Sources said police managed to get to Vonshae’s residence before Gunplay could interact with his ex, and immediately took him into custody. He was then booked into Miami-Dade County Jail and will remain locked up until his Nov. 7 court date.
TMZ reports this was the eighth time Gunplay violated the restraining order, which prohibits him from coming within 500 feet of Vonshae.
The arrest came about two months after the rapper allegedly pointed an AK-47 at Vonshae and their newborn daughter. He was ultimately charged with false imprisonment, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and abuse of a child with no great bodily harm. Shortly after the incident, Vonshae secured a protective order against her estranged husband and was granted full custody of their child.
Vonshae addressed the matter in an August Instagram Story, reassuring her fans that she and her baby were safe.
“Unfortunately, Richard is back using and developed a very bad drinking problem,” she wrote. “I’ve tried everything in my power to help him and love him. This is a demon he has to overcome on his own. At this point I really believe it’s too late.”
She then shed more light on what led Gunplay to pull out the firearm.
“I asked Richard to quiet down as he scared the baby sleeping by yelling playing Call of Duty,” she explained. “He started going off on me for asking him to be quiet. I tried to collect a bag so my daughter and I can go to a room while he sobers up. He didn’t want us to leave and things went left fast. He was arrested last night, the weapon is in police custody.”
