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HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Two days after a theft charge was made public in Harris County against a Memphis rapper, the charge was dismissed.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of rapper Finesse2Tymes, whose legal name is Ricky Hampton, this week after charging documents said he did not return a rental car to Enterprise.
The charge was dropped because of “insufficient evidence of defendant’s guilt.” Hampton was never arrested.
Sources tell the car has been returned.
Hampton was accused of keeping an Infiniti QX80 SUV valued at $72,200 for more than a month after it was due back.
The car was rented by Ronald Bell on Feb. 28, 2023 from an Enterprise location on Braeswood Boulevard, according to court records. The car was supposed to be returned on March 10, 2023.
Charging documents said a 10-day demand letter was sent to the man whose name was on the rental agreement a month after the return date.
Bell told Enterprise that Hampton had the vehicle.
During a three-way call with Bell, Hampton, and Enterprise on April 20, the rapper said he was in Atlanta with the car and would have it resolved by April 23, records say. The employee said they needed the car returned immediately.
When the car was not returned on April 24, it was reported stolen.
That day, investigators used a license plate reading database and discovered the car was spotted driving around the Houston area, according to charging documents.
The following day, Houston police located the car outside of a known recording studio in the Fifth Ward area.
Officers spotted a woman getting into the car and pulled her over. When asked how she got the car, she said she got the keys from her boss, who she only knows as Finesse2Tymes, records say.
According to charging documents, she told the officer that she had been hired by the rapper a few days before and had been using the car to run his errands. The woman told police she knew the vehicle was a rental and was due back a few days prior.