LL Cool J. AP
LOS ANGELES–An alleged burglar was left with a broken nose, jaw and ribs after US rapper-actor LL Cool J confronted the intruder in the kitchen of his Los Angeles home, prosecutors said Thursday.
Jonathan A. Kirby, a 56-year-old transient, was hospitalized after being tackled by the 44-year-old rapper when he broke into his home in the early hours of Wednesday.
LL Cool J — real name James Todd Smith, whose stage name stands for Ladies Love Cool James and who is known to many as the muscle-bound former Navy SEAL he plays on “NCIS: Los Angeles” — took no chances in disabling the intruder.
“Once James Todd Smith, also known as LL Cool J, came downstairs, he encountered the suspect in his kitchen,” said Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) spokesman Frank Preciado.
Exactly what happened next is unclear, but when police arrived, they found LL Cool J “in control of the suspect,” he said, adding that officers handcuffed Kirby and took him to hospital. The actor was not injured.
Asked if the star did the right thing, Preciado said: “In this particular case, the suspect did not have a weapon, (and) you have a victim who is in fear for their life, and a family member inside, in this case his daughter inside the residence … (so) you’re going to do whatever is necessary.”
A publicist for LL Cool J issued a statement saying the actor “and his family are safe and thank everyone for their thoughts and concern.
“As a father, husband and citizen, he is committed to keeping his family safe and is cooperating with authorities on this private matter,” the statement added.
Kirby has been arrested a number of times for theft and disorderly conduct, according to the LA Times, which said he was jailed for five years for burglary in the 1990s and served three jears behind bars for a petty theft in 2005.