A missing pair of license plates and an improvised towing job ended with two members of one of R&B’s most famous families in police custody. Burbank officers stopped a Chevy Tahoe towing a Nissan SUV with a strap early Friday after noticing that neither vehicle had plates. James DeBarge was behind the wheel of the Tahoe, while his younger brother Chico was inside the Nissan. Officers said narcotics were discovered during the stop, according to NBC Los Angeles.
James, 63, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance. Chico, 60, was booked on the same allegation and on an outstanding warrant, though police have not publicly detailed what the warrant involved. Both SUVs were towed from the scene. It was not immediately clear whether either brother had entered a plea or retained an attorney.
Read More: R&B Singer Chico DeBarge Impersonates Brother, Charged With Drug Possession & DUI
Similar Incident Happened 5 Years Ago
The Burbank setting carries some unusual history for Chico. In January 2021, police pulled him over in the same city after they said he was driving at night without headlights or license plates. Chico allegedly identified himself as James when officers asked for his name. Police later said they found methamphetamine and heroin during the stop, and he was charged with drug possession, DUI, and false impersonation, according to TMZ. He had also been arrested on a drug allegation in Burbank in 2019.
Substance abuse and legal trouble have been publicly documented for both brothers well beyond those incidents. Chico served prison time after a 1988 federal cocaine-trafficking conviction and later spoke openly about becoming dependent on prescription painkillers after being stabbed in 2003. That experience informed his 2009 album Addiction. James has faced his own drug-related cases. The Los Angeles Times reported after his 2014 narcotics arrest that court records showed a 2011 drug-possession conviction and 2012 convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and drug possession.
Their names remain closely tied to the DeBarge musical dynasty, although their careers followed different paths. James performed with DeBarge during the group’s Motown run, which produced classics including “All This Love,” “I Like It” and “Rhythm of the Night.” Chico pursued a solo career and scored R&B hits including “Talk to Me” and “Give You What You Want (Fa Sure).” James’ history also became intertwined with another famous musical family through his brief 1984 marriage to Janet Jackson. In her 2022 documentary Janet, Jackson spoke about the difficulty of that relationship and said James’ drug use contributed to its collapse.
