RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Tyra Sanchez has been arrested for ‘assault and threat of shooting a cop’
RuPaul’s Drag Race champion Tyra Sanchez, whose real name is James William Ross IV, was arrested last month in Starke, Florida.
The 35-year-old former reality TV star had been in a car accident and started yelling at a cop who arrived at the scene shortly after, according to TMZ.
When the law enforcement officer tried to calm Ross down and later handcuffed him, he reportedly threatened to shoot the officer.
It was added that Ross started reaching into his car, prompting the officer to put him in a bear hug and deploy a taser.
Undeterred, Ross started running, but the police managed to apprehend and arrest him for assault and resisting without violence.
Trouble with the law: RuPaul’s Drag Race champion Tyra Sanchez, whose real name is James William Ross IV, was arrested last month in Starke, Florida
Flashback: Ross dressed as Tyra Sanchez in 2013
Ross was crowned the winner of the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2010, leaving the show with a $25,000 prize.
In 2020, Ross retired from his alter ego Tyra, but returned in 2022 with an OnlyFans account under the name King Tyra.
It comes after Ross was arrested in 2020 and taken to Fulton County Jail in Atlanta for vandalism.
At the time, an Atlanta Police Department spokesperson said they had responded to a call at an apartment complex, where someone spray-painted the words “don’t move here” over the building, PEOPLE reported.
According to the report, Ross was identified by police officers as the suspect and charged with criminal damage to the property.
TMZ report that Ross lived in the building he allegedly tagged with graffiti and allegedly had not paid his rent in months.
The reality star won season two of RuPaul Drag Race in 2010, but has since moved away from his alter ego, Tyra.
In March 2020, Ross announced he was quitting his drag act Instinct magazine.
2017: James dressed up as himself while posing for RuPaul’s Drag Race posters
Stardom: The reality contestant pictured at a Drag Race party in New York in 2010
And in a social media post that was later deleted, Ross stated that he had “outgrown the desire to dress up,” adding that he “wants muscle, no more shaving my face, I want to look like ZADDY!” He also said, ‘MY NAME IS JAMES OF JAY. NOT TYRA, SHE, MADAME OR QUEEN.”
Currently, his Instagram account has deleted all of his posts and only has one video image with the caption, “Verified NEW IG @CREATORIV Tyra Sanchez is no more and will never return. Stop hoping. Stop wishing. Stop asking.’
However, in a Feb. 23 Instagram post, Ross shared side-by-side photos as himself and as his alter ego, writing to fans, “With me, James Ross, bringing back my character Tyra, I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that I answer to James and I prefer his/him/he pronouns.
‘No shadow. Just a friendly reminder. I mean, if you’ve met Martin, are you going to call him Shenehneh?”