Nate Dogg Arrested on Drug Charges

KINGMAN, Ariz. (Top40 Charts) - Nate Dogg's hit "Oh No" may have taken on new meaning for the rapper - he was recently arrested on drug and weapons charges.

Nate Dogg, whose real name is Nathaniel Dawayne Hale, was booked Friday into the Mohave County Jail on felony charges of possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a stolen firearm. He also was charged with misconduct involving weapons while committing a felony, said Officer John Ortolano, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Hale was released Saturday on $3,500 bail. A call to Hale's lawyer, Mark Geragos, was not immediately returned Monday.

Hale, whose hits include the song "Oh No," with Mos Def and Pharoahe Monch, and several others with artists such as Dr. Dre, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg , had his tour bus stopped because it was going 85 mph in a 75 mph zone.

Authorities smelled marijuana when the bus driver opened the door, Ortolano said. A search of the bus found marijuana, drug paraphernalia, an unloaded Tech-9 pistol and a loaded Beretta .380-caliber pistol, which had been reported stolen by the Los Angeles Police Department, Ortolano said.

Hale, 32, was sentenced in August to three years probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of possessing an unmarked firearm.

The rapper also was arrested June 18, 2000, for allegedly kidnapping his girlfriend from her mother's house, holding her against her will, assaulting her and setting a car on fire. Those charges were later dismissed.