8:46 AM PT -- Lil Reese's attorney Carl Moore tells TMZ … "Mr. Taylor vehemently denies these false accusations. We look forward to his day in court."

Lil Reese is in police custody nearly 2 weeks after an arrest warrant was issued over allegations he punched and strangled a former girlfriend … TMZ has learned.

According to arrest records ... the rapper was booked for aggravated assault of a family or household member in the early hours of Monday morning and was subsequently denied bond.

An eyewitness tells TMZ … the Chicago drill rapper swung by The Address nightclub in Houston, Texas Sunday evening, where LR had a run-in with authorities. We’re told officers were already at the club … though, it’s unclear why they were stationed at the hotspot.

The eyewitness tells us cops caught wind of Lil Reese’s presence at The Address and closed in on him.

We're told Lil Reese was eventually apprehended by the officers and put in handcuffs.

Check it out … in a picture from the scene, Lil Reese is escorted to a cop car as his hands are cuffed behind his back. He keeps a serious expression, appearing to stay tight-lipped during the arrest.

Lil Reese donned a similar expression in his mugshot following the arrest ... keeping a straight face for the picture.

The booking comes 2 weeks after authorities began searching for Lil Reese over an alleged incident at The Pink House in Houston.

As TMZ previously reported … the rapper allegedly punched his ex in the right cheek and attempted to choke her out after she had rejected his advances during a run-in at the nightclub.

The woman told police she was left “gasping for air” after the alleged assault and feared for her life.

According to documents from the Houston Police Department, the woman’s friend witnessed the alleged incident and called for security to intervene in the situation.

We’ve reached out to Reese’s attorney Carl Moore for comment … so far, no word back.