DMX was one of the biggest and greatest rap stars of his era. But he’s been so troubled for so long that any insane story about him starts to seem weirdly possible these days. For instance: New Jersey police are investigating the possibility that he robbed a fan for $3,200 in cash outside a Newark gas station late on Saturday night, and it’s not the kind of thing you automatically dismiss out of hand.

NJ.com reports that Newark police are in the “early stages” of investigating the alleged robbery. The 21-year-old victim claims that he recognized DMX who was with his entourage at a Newark gas station around 12:30AM. In a statement, a Newark police sergeant says, “The two had a brief conversation about rap music and during the conversation a male in DMX’s entourage, showed the victim a gun and demanded the victim’s money.” The man pulled $3,200 in cash out of his pocket, and DMX grabbed it out of his hand and drove away in one of four black Escalades. The victim drove after them until he was able to write down one of the license plates. X had been in town to headline an old-school rap show earlier that night.

A couple of takeaways here. One: If you recognize a rap star and want to dork out about rap music with him, you should probably make sure it’s the right context, and this does not sound like the right context. Another: Who carries that much cash on them in Newark late at night? I can think of a few reasonable explanations why he’d have that much money, but none of them involve calling the police after that money is stolen. Finally: If you care about rap music, you’re rooting for DMX to pull out of his decade-plus tailspin and become great again. This does not seem any closer to happening.

UPDATE: DMX’s lawyer told E! the claim “completely absurd” and says “anyone who believes it makes no sense at all.”