Rocco Ritchie, the 16-year-old son of iconic entertainer Madonna and director Guy Ritchie, has reportedly been busted with marijuana near his North London home. The teen has been involved in a publicly acrimonious custody dispute between his parents since December 2015. Unfortunately, this isn’t Rocco Ritchie’s first time in the headlines for questionable behavior. This time around, Madonna’s son’s alleged bad behavior has reportedly gotten him arrested.
Madonna’s son Rocco Ritchie arrested for cannabis possession in drug bust – 9TheFIX (blog) https://t.co/MA1AtXSekG
— Madonna watch (@Madonnawatch) November 23, 2016
According to a report by the Daily Mail , Madonna’s son Rocco Ritchie was actually arrested for pot possession almost two months ago, back on September 28. That’s when neighbors of the teen and his now-custodial father Guy Ritchie (who was granted custody in September) reportedly witnessed Madonna’s son either “smoking or doing drugs” while sitting on a wall, and called police to report his activities.
When the police showed up to investigate Rocco’s behavior, things went from bad to worse for the 16-year-old son of Hollywood royalty. He was allegedly seen throwing something after realizing that law enforcement had arrived and that they were apparently at the location to investigate him. Responding officers are said to have noted “traces of cannabis” on Rocco Ritchie’s clothing, which prompted them to search the teen. That’s when they reportedly found even more pot on his person, in an amount that has been described as a “small quantity.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jpHtxplliA
Small quantity or not, the discovery led to the arrest of Madonna’s son Rocco Ritchie for possession of pot. The teen was reportedly transported to a nearby police station for processing after his arrest. Due to the high-profile nature of their suspect, North London police issued a statement following Rocco Ritchie’s arrest. The statement, without mentioning Rocco’s name, clearly detailed the incident.
“A 16-year-old youth has been arrested for possession of cannabis. The arrest follows a stop and search by officers from Camden borough at around 5.15pm on Wednesday, September 28 at Steeles Mews North. The youth was taken to a north London police station. He was subsequently bailed and dealt with by Camden borough’s Youth Offending Team.”
Like a stoner … caught for the very first time https://t.co/pk3HSy6DIw
— SNYDE (celebrity • entertainment news) (@snydenydn) November 22, 2016
As New York Daily News reports, Madonna’s son Rocco Ritchie isn’t expected to have a criminal record following his pot bust, which was reportedly the teen’s first offense. Rather, in London, youth with no priors are most frequently sentenced to a version of drug counseling rather than jail time, which is precisely what is reported to have happened in Rocco’s case.
It is unknown who paid Rocco Ritchie’s bail, but once he was released, the teen was handed over to Camden borough’s Youth Offending Team. The team handled Madonna’s son (as well as other similar offenders) with seminars and workshops intended to educate the youth and help keep him out of future drug-related trouble with the law.
“He was dealt with by way of Triage, which uses multiple strands to engage and educate young people in order to prevent re-offending.”
The last year has reportedly been quite rocky and contentious for Rocco, as he struggled in the middle of his parent’s bitter custody fight. A fight he is said to have inadvertently triggered when he abruptly bailed on her musical tour in December 2015. Reportedly, Madonna’s son Rocco was simply over the lifestyle and had returned to London to live with his dad.
Madonna, a New York resident, filed motions both in the United States and United Kingdom in an attempt to have physical custody of her son returned to her as quickly as possible, but Rocco Ritchie reportedly abjectly refused to rejoin his mother’s travels. After months of public squabbling, custody of Madonna’s son was decided by a last-minute settlement reached between the Material Girl and Guy Ritchie.
The details of the settlement have never been made public, but whatever happened resulted in Madonna’s son Rocco Ritchie living with his father and attending school in London, while his mom apparently comes to London to visit.
The custody battle between Madonna and Guy Ritchie was reportedly finalized in September and shortly thereafter, son Rocco Ritchie was picked up for possession of pot; it is unknown if Rocco’s drug arrest may impact the tenuous custody agreement.
[Featured Image by Jeff Fusco/Getty Images]