Rapper Soulja Boy, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was arrested on gun charges early Sunday morning. It was the second arrest in a major federal criminal prosecution against police violence. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) initial statement on the incident said officers arrested the 35-year-old artist for felony vandalism. He was charged as a felon in possession of a gun. This incident took place around 2:50 a.m. at the intersection of Genesee and Melrose, where Soulja Boy was a passenger in the vehicle that was stopped by police.
This latest arrest is not the first time Soulja Boy has funnelled legal trouble by way of firearms. He was initially arrested in December 2016 at his Hollywood Hills home. In the course of that arrest, officers discovered a gun, even though he was on probation. Following the incident, he pleaded no contest to felony dangerous weapons possession and a misdemeanor charge in April of 2017. In exchange, he received a five-year probation sentence and 240 days of community service.
Beyond his gun-related woes, Soulja Boy has had other run-ins with the law. In April 2023, a Los Angeles jury found him liable for sexually assaulting a woman at a party at his Malibu residence in 2019. They required him to pay her $235,900 in punitive damages. The jury’s penalty mirrored the compensatory damages they awarded her just a week before. Soulja Boy has denied the assault allegation, and the charge only compounds his increasingly duelistic legal maneuvers.
Soulja Boy’s recent arrest has brought in plenty of pressing musical headlines. This is due in part to his personal history, and in part to his stature and influence as a musician. He recently participated in the NBA 2K23 Launch Event in Los Angeles on September 7, 2022. This participation further highlights his continuing presence within the public discourse.
As the news of the arrest is making its way around the web, ABC News is reportedly working to obtain comments from Soulja Boy’s people. To date, they have gotten no response. The LAPD is still looking into the events of the traffic stop and the charges filed against him.
