Flavor Flav Arrested Following Domestic Incident: A Look at His Past Legal Issues

Flavor Flav has some more legal drama on his hands, and the charges are serious. The musician and reality TV star was arrested on October 17 in Las Vegas following an ugly domestic incident. Reports are saying that Flav, whose real name is William Drayton, argued with his fiancée before threatening her teenage son with a knife. The former Public Enemy member is likely to face charges that could lead to significant prison time. While fans know him best for his "Flavor of Love" reality show, the star does have a sordid past when it comes to the law. It started with a series of robbery arrests when he was young, and only got worse from there. Here is a look back at some of his past legal issues.

He had a previous domestic assault arrest in 1991

Sadly, Flav has a history when it comes to domestic violence. In 1991, the rapper spent a month behind bars after he assaulted his then-girlfriend Karen Ross. That was just the beginning of his problems. Flav had three children with Ross, and ended up losing custody of them. He would later admit that the whole incident would contribute to his growing drug addiction.

He shot a neighbor in 1993

While his growing addition was causing all sorts of problems for his band, the legal problems were only mounting for the star. In 1993, he was arrested after he shot at his neighbor. He ended up being charged with attempted murder, and spent three months in the slammer. A series of drug charges were also tied to the crime, and Flav ended up entering rehab. Unfortunately, his sobriety was short-lived. ''When you're addicted to drugs and you don't have nothing but time,'' he said when reflecting back on the whole incident, ''You take your time and put it into your drug use.''

He spent time in jail for traffic violations

Flav has also had a checkered history when it comes to driving. In 2002, he spent about nine weeks in jail for a series of traffic issues, including driving without a license and multiple parking tickets. In 2011, he was arrested again for similar charges. After being pulled over in Las Vegas, officers discovered that the entertainer had misdemeanor warrants for driving without insurance, driving without a license, and parking tickets.