Sunday, April 13, 2008

The Ice Man Restraineth






Vanilla Ice is going from the cooler to the hot seat.

The former hit-making hip-hopster was released from Palm Beach County Jail following a court appearance Friday morning, hours after getting arrested for shoving his wife.

Criminal Court Justice Nancy Perez placed Ice, aka Robert Van Winkle, on supervised release without bond and ordered him to keep away from Mrs. Ice, aka Laura Van Winkle, until the court can make a final decision in the case.

"I love my wife and I know she feels bad about this," Van Winkle told Perez.

"Good luck to you," said Perez.

Outside the jail, Ice's agent, Wes Kain, labeled the incident "a misunderstanding."

According to Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the rapper faces one count of simple domestic battery and will now enter the Palm Beach County Supervised Own Recognizance program, which requires him to live apart from his missus and have no physical contact with her.

He can, however, contact her by phone, and the judge granted him visitation with their two children, 8-year-old Dustee Rain and 10-year-old Keelee Breeze, as long as he's in the presence of his neighbor, Frank Morales.

The 40-year-old Ice was also allowed to pay a onetime visit to the couple's Wellington home escorted by a police officer to collect his personal effects. Otherwise, he must stay away until the domestic battery charge is resolved.

Per the arrest report, the one-hit wonder was taken into custody and booked at approximately 10:43 p.m. ET Monday, after his spouse called 911 and reported she had been hit and kicked by Ice after a dispute over the purchase of a bedroom set. Laura Van Winkle said the incident occurred in front of one of their children.

Officers turned up at approximately 7:15 p.m. and tracked down Ice, who was on his motorcycle about two blocks away from the house. By the time police got back to the house, Laura Van Winkle altered her story, claiming she had only been pushed, she wasn't in fear for her safety, and she wanted a divorce. She then refused to say anything more until she spoke to her attorney.

Ice denied pushing her and insisted that he hopped on his bike to get away from her, not the cops. He also said they had been arguing for two days, per the police report, and that his wife was bipolar and sometimes "irrational."

An arraignment in the case is tentatively scheduled for May 5, Barbera said.

The "Ice Ice Baby" rapper and former Surreal Life star is no stranger to domestic disturbances.

In 2001, he was arrested near Davie, Fla., for purportedly grabbing his wife's hair during a heated argument in the couple's car, but Laura declined to cooperate with police and the case was dropped.

In recent years he has gotten in trouble for a series of motoring miscues and was fined after his pet wallaroo and goat escaped and wandered around town.

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