Weapons charges dropped against Rapper Roddy Ricch in NYC
Roddy Ricch performs onstage during Roddy Ricch Headlines SECRET SESH X SAC NFT Event on May 06, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - Los Angeles Rapper Roddy Rich will not face weapons charges in New York City after a gun arrest Saturday that forced him to miss a scheduled concert.
The Queens District Attorney dropped the charges against Ricch- whose real name is Rodrick Moore-- and another man in the car, but did not say why. A clerk at Queens Criminal Court told FOX 5 NY that the charges were dropped on Sunday. Neither case was listed on the public court docket.
The Associated Press left a message with the NYPD seeking comment.
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Rich was on his way to perform at Governors Ball Music Festival at Citi Field when he was arrested.
According to the NYPD, Ricch, 23, and two other men were inside an SUV, heading to the concert when private security at a security checkpoint saw a gun in the vehicle.
Police were called and found a loaded gun with nine rounds of ammunition, as well as a large-capacity magazine in the car.
Soon after, authorities dropped charges against the Grammy Award winner and one of the other men in the vehicle, Carlos Collins, 57, of Eastchester, New York.
Prosecutors are pursuing a case against the third man, whom a security guard said was sitting in the front passenger seat where the gun was found.
Michael Figueroa, 46, of Brooklyn, was arraigned Sunday on gun possession charges.
As of Monday, Figueroa had not posted bail and was being held at New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex. A message seeking comment was left with Figueroa’s lawyer.
According to prosecutors, the security guard told police that he saw Figueroa pull an object from his waistband and reach toward his feet after the vehicle was stopped.
The guard said he then searched the vehicle and found a loaded pistol under the front passenger seat floor mat, prosecutors said.
Ricch was back on the stage Sunday at radio station Hot 97’s Summer Jam concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
There, he led an explicit chant against the NYPD, according to social media posts. Later, he posted a profane response to a tweet about his arrest. Messages seeking comment were left Monday with Ricch’s booking agency and record company.
Ricch, who hails from Compton, California, near Los Angeles, gained fame for the single "Die Young." He won a Grammy in 2020 for appearing on the late Nipsey Hussle’s song "Racks in the Middle."
With the Associated Press