‘Making the Band’ Alum Arrested On Sex Trafficking Charge
Kevin Lamont Barnes Jr., also known as “Chopper”, awaits a preliminary hearing in mid-May.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
A rapper and former MTV reality TV star is being accused of using his social media to lure women into sex work, according to New York Daily News.
Kevin Lamont Barnes Jr., 37, who uses the moniker “Chopper,” was arrested and charged with one count of sex trafficking according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, PEOPLE reported.
Authorities launched an investigation after seeing several social media posts that suggested the rapper may be operating a sex trafficking ring. According to TMZ, an undercover cop posed as a sex worker and received a direct message on Instagram from Barnes, offering money.
After exchanging multiple direct messages, the undercover officer spoke to Barnes over the phone, the TMZ report said. Barnes told the cop he would make them part of his “team” and “stable” while boasting having homes across the U.S. Barnes asked the person managing the account to meet him in Charlotte, NC, but when the cop stalled he became irate and demanded they pay $2,000.
The undercover detective told TMZ they had sufficient amount of evidence to arrest Barnes on felony sex trafficking charges.
The rapper was arrested in Annapolis, MD, earlier this month but was extradited to Las Vegas, according to Page Six.
According to USA Today, Barnes was arrested April 25 and released the following day without bail pending a preliminary hearing of evidence May 10.
Barnes was part of the second iteration of MTV’s Making the Band, which aired in 2002. He was previously signed to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ label Bad Boy Records, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
