Rapper Vanilla Ice accepted a community service plea deal on Thursday allowing him to avoid prosecution in the break-in and burglary of a Florida home.
The rapper, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, agreed to 100 hours of community service and to pay more than $1,000 in restitution after appearing in West Palm Beach Circuit Court Thursday morning, according to prosecutors.
Van Winkle, 47, was arrested and charged with grand theft and burglary on Feb. 18 after furniture, a pool heater, bicycles and other items disappeared from a foreclosed South Florida home between last December and the time of his arrest, police said.
Van Winkle had been renovating a neighboring home at the time and said the arrest was "a misunderstanding" and "blown out of proportion" in February after leaving jail, NBC station NBC Miami reported.
The rapper claimed several of the items police recovered from his home were found on a curb and that "he thought they were trash."
Under the plea deal, prosecutors will drop the charges against Van Winkle within 12 months if he completes 100 hours of community service with Habitat for Humanity in Palm Beach County and pays $1,333.39 to the estate of the homeowner.
"I’m happy to get this resolved," Van Winkle told the Palm Beach Post after Thursday’s hearing. "I never had any criminal intent. It’s just unfortunate, but here we are. I’m moving forward."
Van Winkle is best known for his 1990 hit single "Ice Ice Baby," but in 2009 launched a home-renovation reality-tv series on the DIY Network.
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