Young Jeezy Cleared of Gun Charges
Felony weapons charges leveled against Young Jeezy, real name Jay Jenkins, were dismissed by an Orange County District Attorney and judge today, with TMZ reporting there was a clear lack of evidence in the case from the beginning.
The Atlanta rapper and five others had already pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stemmed from an August arrest after police found an AK-47 and a Glock on Jeezy’s tour bus. Police had obtained a warrant to search the bus after a 38-year-old man had been shot backstage during a concert co-headlined by Jeezy and Wiz Khalifa in Mountain View, California.
At the time of the search and seizure, however, authorities already knew that the two guns were not only owned by Jeezy’s security chief, but had also been inspected two days prior by cops who determined they had nothing to do with the shooting. Police also knew that Jeezy’s security chief had purchased the AK-47 legally in Georgia, and though it is illegal to possess the weapon in California, he was not charged anyway (at the time of the arrest, he was in the hospital recovering from a bullet wound sustained during an attempted shooting of Suge Knight in Hollywood).
Furthermore, when police boarded the bus, neither Jeezy nor the other five men were near the guns, which were kept in a case behind the security chief’s bunk bed. DNA tests also reportedly proved that none of the six had touched the weapons.
Capping it all off, police confiscated everyone’s money, jewelry, clothing and other personal items, which had nothing to do with the case itself. The six men were held on $1 million bail each, despite the fact that the recommended bail for such an offense is $20,000. They all spent four days in jail until bail was reduced.
In a statement, Jeezy addressed whether the arrest had anything to do with racial profiling, saying, “I pray this had nothing to do with race but it definitely had nothing to do with evidence. Words cannot express how vindicated I feel with these charges being dismissed today. While my team and I always knew that the allegations and charges were based on zero facts, the rush to judgment by both the media and the police has been extremely disappointing. I’m relieved that the truth has ultimately prevailed and I would like to thank those who have always stood by me including my family and fans.”
The rapper’s legal counsel, Blair Berk, added: “Mr. Jenkins should not have been arrested and this case should not have been prosecuted. We are pleased it has been dismissed, although frustrated that it took the police and prosecutors months to do the right thing.”