14 DAY TRIAL // Vanilla Ice is in trouble: the former rapper turned house flipper and reality star, thanks to the DIY Network show The Vanilla Ice Project, has been arrested by the Lantana Police Department in Lantana, Florida, and booked for burglary residence and grand theft.
According to a police statement to CNN, the star looted stuff from an abandoned house situated right next to the one he was redoing.
Vanilla Ice fell on hard times
Needless to say, Vanilla Ice hasn’t been able to reignite the same interest in his career as he could command back in the good ol’ days of “Ice Ice Baby.” Those would be the same days when he could also get away with starring in movies like “Cool as Ice.”
Today, Vanilla Ice, real name Robert Van Winkle, buys houses under the market price, renovates them and then sells them for a profit. The show that documents his work as a house flipper has been on air since 2010, so it’s safe to say that it must be doing good if it wasn’t pulled yet.
Still, things at home must be pretty bad if he’s turned to stealing stuff from other people’s houses, including a pool heater and some furniture. According to the police, the looting took place between December and February, and the only reason police weren’t alerted on the spot was that the owner had no idea what was happening.
The house from which the goods were stolen was going through foreclosure, and chances are the former rapper thought no one would be missing them.
Most items have been returned to the owner, the police say.
Grand theft and burglary residence charges
“During the investigation, it was determined Robert Matthew Van Winkle played a role in the burglary and theft,” the police say.
“Mr. Van Winkle is currently renovating the residence adjacent to the property in which the items were stolen. A search warrant was obtained and executed in unincorporated Palm Beach County in which several of the stolen items were recovered at a residence under the care and control of Robert Van Winkle,” authorities add in the same statement.
The photo attached to this article is Vanilla Ice’s mugshot. As of the time of writing, it is not known if he’s been released on bail or if he’s still in police custody, but a publicist wasn’t immediately available for comment as news of the arrest broke.
DYI Network has said that they’re conducting their own investigation into the circumstances that made the arrest possible, which could mean that Vanilla Ice’s show is in danger of being canceled. But that’s probably the least of his concerns right now.