Eminem's rapping brother charged with drunken driving
Published: Thursday, April 16, 2009
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By Mitch Hotts, Macomb Daily Staff Writer
The younger brother of rap superstar Eminem has been charged with drunken driving after he was arrested early Wednesday. It is his second alcohol-related offense this year, according to police and state records.
Nathan Kane Mathers, 23, was arraigned Wednesday in 41-A District Court in Shelby Township on one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated-second offense. He was released on a $10,000 bond set by Magistrate Michael Osear.
"He was very cooperative and did not cause our deputies any problems during the arrest process," said Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel.
According to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, Mathers was stopped after failing to pull to the side of the road for an ambulance on North Avenue near 22 Mile Road in Macomb Township.
Mathers was southbound on North Avenue in a black Cadillac with a female passenger when he failed to pull over as a northbound ambulance approached. A sheriff's deputy was in the area and made a traffic stop on the vehicle.
Hackel said the deputy "immediately smelled intoxicants" coming from the driver and conducted a series of sobriety tests, which Mathers failed. He was then arrested and his car impounded; the female passenger also had been drinking and wasn't cleared by police to drive.
The two had been drinking at Johnny G's Sports Bar in downtown Mount Clemens prior to the traffic stop.
His blood-alcohol level was .16, about twice the legal limit to be considered intoxicated, police said.
Cecil St. Pierre, Mathers' defense attorney, could not be reached for comment.
Mathers, who resides in Macomb Township, has a long list of driving violations, according to Michigan Secretary of State records.
In January, he was arrested in Clinton Township where he was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired. He was convicted in March, had 4 points assessed on his driver's license, and was granted a restricted license.
The restrictions, which were to begin April 18 and run through July 16, meant he was only allowed to drive to and from work and support group meetings.
Twelve days after receiving his license in 2003, he was involved in a one-car accident in Shelby Township with no injuries, state records show. Later that year, his license was suspended after he failed to pay a ticket in Ferndale for an equipment violation.
In September 2003, he was involved in an accident in Clinton Township that resulted in one injury and was ticketed for careless driving.
Mathers had numerous other tickets and had his driver's license suspended two more times, including once for failing to attend a state-ordered driver improvement hearing with the Secretary of State.
Nathan Mathers is the sole sibling of Marshall Mathers, known to millions as Eminem. Their family had resided in Detroit, Missouri and Warren, before moving to Clinton Township as Eminem's career ascended in the 1990s. Nathan Mathers has his own rap career where his stage name is Nathan Kane.