courts and crime
Police stopped the Tesla for alleged “tinted windows” and found a firearm in the rear seat, which the “Crank That” rapper denied owning, prosecutors revealed
Soulja Boy was released from custody Tuesday after California prosecutors declined to file charges following his arrest over the weekend on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“A case was declined due to insufficient evidence,” a spokesman with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office wrote in an email sent to Rolling Stone. The “Crank That” rapper was released from jail shortly before 2 p.m. local time, according to online records.
Soulja Boy, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was arrested early Sunday when a vehicle he was riding in was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation, an LAPD spokesman said. The car, a Tesla, was stopped because it allegedly had tinted windows, prosecutors revealed in their charge evaluation worksheet obtained by Rolling Stone.
“[Officers] discovered a firearm in the rear seat near a suspect. Both the suspect and the driver denied owning the firearm,” the worksheet said. Despite the denial, Way was booked on suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
The rapper, 35, has a store for his SODMG clothing line on Melrose Avenue, near the location where he was arrested. He spent two nights in jail awaiting the charging decision.
Way made headlines in April when a jury awarded one of his former girlfriends $4 million in damages for her claims he assaulted, sexually battered, and harassed her. He previously was convicted of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle following his 2014 arrest in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley.