Entertainment

Las Vegas Arrest Complicates Flavor Flav’s NY Court Case

Published

11 years ago

June 23, 2015

Rapper and entertainer Flavor Flav leaves a Nassau County courthouse, Tuesday, June, 23, 2015, in Mineola, N.Y. Flav’s arrest last month in Las Vegas on allegations he was speeding and driving under the influence has delayed an expected settlement in a New York case on similar charges. He has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of driving with a suspended license. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)

FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — What happened in Vegas apparently is not staying in Vegas.

Entertainer Flavor Flav’s arrest last month in Nevada on allegations he was speeding and driving under the influence has delayed an expected settlement in a New York case on similar charges.

“I’m just a little disappointed because I thought this was gonna go away today,” said the rapper and reality TV star, sporting his trademark clock around his neck as he left a Long Island courthouse. “But it’s OK. I just gotta come back.”

Flav, 56, whose real name is William Drayton, has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of driving with a suspended license, along with a speeding violation and two misdemeanors stemming from his January 2014 arrest on Long Island while driving to his mother’s funeral.

One of his attorneys indicated before Tuesday’s proceeding that his client was considering a guilty plea to settle the New York case. But prosecutors raised concerns over his arrest in Las Vegas and said that rather than considering a plea deal, they were inclined to proceed to trial and would be seeking a six-month jail sentence if he is convicted.

Last month, Drayton was pulled over on a freeway on-ramp near McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas after police say he was traveling 73 mph in a 45 mph zone. He also possessed a small amount of marijuana, the Nevada Highway Patrol says. Formal charges have yet to be filed in the case; prosecutors say they are still waiting for the results of blood tests.

Neither New York prosecutors nor his defense attorney discussed specific details Tuesday of a potential plea agreement.

“We’re getting very close to resolving this matter but because we’re dealing with different states we have to determine whether or not a plea in this case in New York will affect his ability to travel and go on tour,” said attorney Michael DerGarabedian.

The lawyer would not say if his client would accept a plea that includes jail time. “I think that he thinks the district attorney is going extra hard on him,” DerGarabedian said. “Granted he didn’t help his position by getting re-arrested a couple of weeks ago, but if this matter was resolved in a timely fashion that would have been Nevada’s problem.”

But Shams M. Tarek, a spokesman for the Nassau County prosecutor’s office, said, “This defendant is being treated the same way any defendant with a history of aggravated unlicensed operation convictions and a new arrest for driving while impaired by drugs would be.

“Every delay and adjournment has been requested by the defense,” he added.

The current legal issues are not the first for Drayton.

A Nevada judge closed a criminal case against him last August after he completed a required domestic violence counseling course. The rapper pleaded guilty to attempted battery and battery constituting domestic violence, misdemeanors, for wielding a kitchen knife during a home argument with his longtime girlfriend’s 17-year-old son.

And last week, Las Vegas prosecutors said they would not pursue charges against Drayton for allegedly having an illegal fireworks display at a July Fourth party last summer.

The Long Island native who currently lives in Las Vegas was inducted in 2013 with the rap group Public Enemy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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January 2, 2026

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

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December 25, 2025

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.