New York rapper Desiigner, whose real name is Sidney Royel Selby, was released without bail on Sept. 10 after being handed two misdemeanor counts of drug possession and menacing. The charges for alleged drug crimes were a result of a ‘road rage” incident that occurred on Sept. 8. Though a witness claimed that the rapper pointed a gun at him, Selby was not handed any weapons charges.
The incident that led to Selby’s charges took place near the intersection of W. 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. Selby was a passenger in a white Cadillac Escalade when the 42-year-old driver got into an argument with another driver at about 8:15 p.m. The other driver alerted the authorities, and police stopped the Escalade shortly afterward.
When police searched the Escalade, they allegedly recovered several different kinds of drugs including methamphetamines. Police also claimed that they found two forged firefighter plaques that belonged to the driver. The driver was charged for drug offenses and forgery, and he was held on $5,000 bail. Three friends of Desiigner who were also passengers in the car at the time were each handed a charge for misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
Police are not allowed to search a vehicle that they stop unless they have a warrant, permission from the driver or probable cause to believe that they will recover evidence of a crime. A person who has been handed drug charges after a traffic stop may argue that the conducted search was unlawful. A criminal defense attorney may help a defendant petition for the suppression of evidence that was obtained during an illegal search.
Source: New York Daily News, “Desiigner free on misdemeanor menacing, drug charges,” Dale W. Eisinger, Ginger Adams Otis, Sept. 10, 2016
