DMX guilty of trying to buy drugs in Miami

MIAMI (Reuters) - Rap star DMX pleaded guilty to trying to buy cocaine and marijuana in Miami and was awaiting extradition to Arizona on outstanding drug charges there, his lawyer said on Thursday.

The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, entered the plea on Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court and was sentenced to time served, said his lawyer Bradford Cohen.

He was jailed two or three days after his July arrest on a charge of trying to buy illegal drugs from an undercover police officer during a street corner sting, Cohen said.

Simmons was initially released on bond on the Florida charge, but was arrested two weeks ago on the outstanding warrant from Arizona during a traffic check outside a Wal-Mart store and then denied bond.

Rather than stay jailed until after a trial set for October, he pleaded guilty in the Florida case and agreed to be extradited to Arizona, where he expects to be released on bond, Cohen said.

"He got shafted on this one," said Cohen, who said the evidence in the Florida drug sting was weak and flawed.

Simmons has a home in Arizona and missed a court hearing there on charges of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He also faces animal cruelty charges stemming from the discovery of dog carcasses and malnourished dogs on his property near Phoenix.

(Reporting by Jane Sutton, Editing by Michael Christie and Todd Eastham)