RAPPER Rod Wave has been released from jail after cops were forced to admit that gun charges against him were inaccurate.
Wave, real name Rodarius Green, was booked into jail days after a group of gunmen opened fire outside a Florida bar on Easter Sunday. 304 stainless tee
At a news conference on Wednesday, St. Petersburg police announced that three men were arrested for the shooting.
Green, 25, was not named as a shooter but cops said he was taken into custody after two of his rental properties were searched.
Jail records showed that Green was being held on two counts of illegally possessing a firearm or ammunition as a convicted felon.
The rapper's attorneys immediately insisted that the charges were incorrect and that Green was not a convicted felon.
In a stunning U-turn on Wednesday night, cops admitted that the charges against Green were a mistake.
“He was arrested on a charge that was later determined not to be accurate so he was released,” a spokesperson told the Tampa Bay Times.
“This investigation is still open, it’s still ongoing and we are still looking to arrest more people and additional charges could be forthcoming.”
Green's lawyer, Mark Rankin, said, "The entire basis of that allegation was that the ammunition was on a kitchen counter or a table adjacent to a folder that had some papers with his name inside.
"That’s it. That’s certainly not enough to charge somebody and certainly not enough to convict him.”
St. Petersburg police released mugshots of the suspects and surveillance footage from outside Sonic Sports Bar and Lounge.
The footage showed cars pulling up on a group of people outside the bar.
One driver slammed on the car horn before gunfire rang out.
Bystanders ran for their lives as several gunmen were seen opening fire.
Four people were injured in the shooting, including a 17-year-old girl. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Sixty shell casings were found at the scene and at least six cars were also hit by bullets.
Suspects Christopher Atkins, Keith Wesby, and Kevontre Websy were arrested and two others were expected to be taken into custody, cops said.
At Wednesday's news conference, Assistant Chief of the St. Petersburg Police Department Mike Kovacsev explained how the shooting led to Green's arrest.
Detectives found that Green allegedly owned the car the shooters drove off in and was renting the home they fled to.
Based on that information, detectives got a search warrant for two properties that they said were rented by Green or one of his businesses.
Police didn't find the two suspected shooters but arrested Green on suspicion of illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
“We don’t know if he was there that evening when shots were fired," Kovacsev said.
"We don’t know if he had anything to do with it at that point.
“It’s more of a fact that you have vehicles, you have residences, you have a complacency. You’re complicit and we can’t ignore it.
"At the end of the day, we’ll work with the state attorney’s office to determine whether additional people will be charged.”
Green maintained his innocence and his attorneys argued their client is not a felon, despite his previous brushes with the law.
"The officers that made the arrest are incorrect," his attorneys Bradford Cohen and Mark Rankin told TMZ right after his arrest.
"He is not a convicted felon and has never been a convicted felon."
At the time of his arrest, cops apparently believed that Green was convicted of a felony in November 2017 for carrying a concealed firearm, according to an arrest affidavit.
However, Green pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in that case, meaning he was never convicted of a felony.
Green was arrested in Pinellas County in 2022 for domestic battery but the charge was later dropped.
His lawyers said on Wednesday, "We would have hoped additional research would have been done prior to them filing these charges."
Green's attorneys also insisted that the rapper doesn't identify with any gang after cops said that Green was seen with suspected members of a "violent group."
During Wednesday's news conference about the Easter shooting, cops said they have been investigating a violent group that identifies as the "YGs" or "Young Gangsters" since March 2022.
Police alleged that the group was tied to drug trafficking and shootings and that members had been seen with Green since summer of 2023.
St. Petersburg police said that three of the suspects arrested on Wednesday are connected with the Young Gangsters and that they were living in homes and driving cars registered to Green or his record label.
The U.S. Sun contacted Green's lawyers for comment.
A St. Petersburg native, Green's career skyrocketed after his single Heart On Ice went viral on YouTube and TikTok in 2019.
Widely recognized as a pioneer of soul trap, Green has had several hits peak on the charts and has since released five studio albums.
In 2021, he released his album SoulFly, containing his highest-charting songs.
That same year, Green released his song Nirvana, which was rumored to be a suicide letter, though he denied it.
His latest album, Nostalgia, which dropped in 2023, debuted at No 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking his third No 1 Billboard album.
He once referred to rappers Kanye West and Kevin Gates as his biggest inspirations.
Billboard has recognized him for his "candor and shrewd ability to tug at the listeners' heartstrings.”
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