Rap Musician Vanilla Ice, Bodyguard Arrested After Clash With Transient at Supermarket

Rap music star Vanilla Ice and a bodyguard were arrested Monday after the tough-talking singer brandished a handgun at a transient who was trying to sell him jewelry in the parking lot of a Studio City supermarket, police said.

The transient then called police to report a robbery because he thought the singer and his three bodyguards were planning a holdup of the Ralphs grocery store at Laurel Canyon and Ventura boulevards, said Sgt. Christopher Vasquez.

When two patrol cars arrived, officers discovered that the robbery call was a false alarm, but took the singer and bodyguard Aaron Eric Martin into custody on misdemeanor gun charges.

Vanilla Ice, 23, whose legal name is Robert Van Winkle, and Martin, 22, were released on their own recognizance about 4:30 a.m. after being booked, fingerprinted and photographed at the North Hollywood station jail.

Van Winkle was booked on suspicion of brandishing a firearm and Martin on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, Vasquez said. If convicted, Van Winkle could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. Martin could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Investigators said Van Winkle and a bodyguard were sitting in a car in the grocery store parking lot about 2:15 a.m., waiting for his two other bodyguards who were shopping inside, when the transient offered to sell them a necklace. The singer, sitting in the passenger seat of the Jeep Cherokee, reportedly showed a 9-millimeter handgun to the man and said: “Get . . . away from me.”