Voice Of Post

Vanilla Ice theft conviction dismissed, Vanilla Ice has avoided jail time by striking a plea deal with prosecutors over a burglary arrest in Florida earlier this year.

Real name Robert Van Winkle, was taken into custody on February 18 and charged with burglary of a foreclosed home and grand theft, amid allegations he took items from a property close to one he was renovating for his home improvement show, The Vanilla Ice Project.

He insisted he was innocent and branded the whole incident "a misunderstanding" which had been "blown out of proportion", and now the rapper-turned-TV personality's lawyers have managed to get the felony charges dismissed - as long as the star stays out of trouble for the next nine months.

In exchange for the plea deal, Vanilla Ice must complete 100 hours of community service for Habitat for Humanity and pay $1,300 in restitution. Speaking after the hearing in Palm Beach County Circuit Court on Thursday morning, the star told reporters, "I'm glad to have this behind me and move forward to do positive things."