The DeBarge family once supplied the soundtrack for slow dances, cookouts and quiet-storm radio.
Their soaring harmonies turned “I Like It,” “All This Love” and “Rhythm of the Night” into classics. Yet behind those velvet voices was a family plagued by childhood trauma, addiction, prison sentences and arrests.
James and Jonathan “Chico” DeBarge are now facing another painful verse in that decades-long story.
The Masonic Temple Insta-Jam; Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
The brothers were arrested in Burbank, California — the latest incident in the family’s long entanglement with illegal drugs.
Burbank police stopped them shortly after midnight on Friday, Aug. 28, near Vineland Avenue and Sherman Way.
Authorities said James, 63, was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe that was pulling a Nissan SUV with a tow strap. Chico, 60, was sitting inside the Nissan while it was being towed, according to NBC 4.
Neither vehicle displayed a license plate. Neither brother was wearing a seatbelt.
Police said they found narcotics at the scene. Both men were taken into custody, while the Tahoe and Nissan received their own chauffeured ride to the impound lot.
🚨 James and Chico DeBarge were arrested for allegedly possessing fentanyl and meth.
Exclusive details: https://t.co/lRKTMFM9yp pic.twitter.com/S5szjMonpu
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 2, 2026
The arrest record shows that James Curtis DeBarge was booked at 12:48 a.m. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance with two or more prior convictions. His bail was listed at $0.
Chico was booked 11 minutes later. He faces misdemeanor allegations of possessing a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. He was also booked on an outside misdemeanor warrant carrying $30,000 bail. Police did not immediately disclose what prompted the warrant.
In a formal statement obtained by Atlanta Black Star addressing the traffic stop, Rogers Entertainment Group refuted the drug allegations.
“Chico DeBarge does not use drugs and has maintained a clean and healthy lifestyle for quite some time,” the statement reads.
It further states that “any allegations, statements, or implications that suggest otherwise should not be attributed to Chico.”
Clarifying that the family was merely moving a vehicle to safety, management explained that Chico’s outstanding warrant stemmed strictly from a “non-drug-related civil matter.”
While thanking law enforcement, the team said legal counsel is reviewing reports for “inaccurate, misleading, or defamatory claims.”
Assuring supporters that Chico is in “excellent spirits” and committed to his wellness, the agency confirmed that his 30th-anniversary tour “will proceed as planned.”
The unusual traffic stop left social media users caught between disbelief, jokes and genuine concern, despite management’s denial.
House Debarge, Creators of R&B Jams (PUT SOME RESPECT ON THE DEBARGE FAMILY NAME!!)
“Stay With Me” 1983
(and I can’t fit the whole song in here, but if you don’t know it – and I’m judging if you don’t – the “don’t goooo, don’t gooo, don’t goooo is ad-libbed in the outro) pic.twitter.com/N64RgWtrxk— Naima Cochrane (@naima) January 23, 2018
Others recognized the family’s history beneath the latest mugshots. “The trauma this family has endured seems endless I pray for them for strength for healing for recovery,” one commenter wrote.
“This sucks. Love the Debarge music,” commented a second person. A third wrote, “So sad. Wish they truly knew how much they are loved. Praying for the Debarge Family.”
Chico previously served nearly six years in federal prison after he and his older brother Bobby DeBarge were convicted in a 1988 cocaine-trafficking conspiracy.
According to the Los Angeles Times, prosecutors accused the brothers of participating in a scheme to transport more than two pounds of cocaine from Los Angeles to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
House Debarge, Creators of R&B Jams (PUT SOME RESPECT ON THE DEBARGE FAMILY NAME!!)
“Stay With Me” 1983
(and I can’t fit the whole song in here, but if you don’t know it – and I’m judging if you don’t – the “don’t goooo, don’t gooo, don’t goooo is ad-libbed in the outro) pic.twitter.com/N64RgWtrxk— Naima Cochrane (@naima) January 23, 2018
TMZ reports that Chico later faced drug-related arrests in 2007, 2019 and 2021. During one 2021 booking, authorities accused him of falsely identifying himself as James.
Chico’s sixth solo album, appropriately titled “Addiction,” examined his substance-abuse battle and the years he lost to prison.
James has accumulated his own record. Atlanta Black Star reached out to his team for comment regarding the latest arrest but had not received a response at the time of publication.
He was arrested in 2010 over an alleged firearm assault. Drug possession and another assault allegation followed in 2011. A 2013 hit-and-run case involved controlled substances, while a 2014 arrest concerned suspected methamphetamine possession.
The young singers secretly eloped in 1984, but their marriage was annulled the next year. Jackson said James’ drug use quickly created chaos. She recalled him disappearing on their wedding night and searching the streets for him while trying to flush his pills.
In 2025, the brothers released their own documentary about their current living conditions, addressing their addiction and poverty.
The struggles stretched across the family. Mark DeBarge received 180 days in jail, community service, and probation after a 2012 drug case. El DeBarge faced cocaine and crack arrests before prison and rehabilitation.
Bobby battled heroin addiction and served time for drug trafficking. He died in 1995 from AIDS-related complications. Family members have said childhood abuse contributed to the addictions that later affected several siblings.
The DeBarges built an extraordinary musical legacy. However, the family’s long-running battle with addiction continues to produce an encore that nobody requested.
