Vanilla Ice was arrested on February 18 of this year. Police said he took furniture, a pool heater, artwork and other items from a vacant home next door to a house that he was renovating. Vanilla Ice owns a home renovation company and has a reality TV show called The Vanilla Ice Project. Vanilla Ice claimed he had bought the home. But when police questioned his employees, it turned out that he had not actually bought the house, but was just thinking about it.
Even more interesting is that the home he took the items from had a deceased owner.
While the case made the papers and got him better attention than his movie To the Extreme did, it did put the future of his reality TV show in jeopardy. But now it looks like Vanilla Ice can chill out and get back to swinging a hammer for the cameras.
Vanilla Ice appeared before Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer this week only to have a plea deal announced. His attorneys and the prosecutor struck a deal that specifies that he is to perform 100 hours of community service and pay the deceased homeowner’s estate more than $1,100.
“I’m happy to get this resolved,” Vanilla Ice said. “I never had any criminal intent. It’s just unfortunate, but here we are. I’m moving forward.”
The plea deal comes just in time, since his reality TV show will premier on the DIY Network this weekend. Not only is he off the hook, but he gets free press leading into the launch of the show.
Add to that the fact that the work he will be performing couldn’t be more up his alley, and the deal is pretty sweet. Vanilla Ice’s 100 hours of community service involves building homes for Habitat for Humanity. So Vanilla Ice will be working off his plea deal doing what he likes to do anyway.
“I’m going to do what I do anyway,” Vanilla Ice said of the plea deal. “This is an easy thing. It’s like asking the Pope to pray.”