December 07, 2000
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Lil Tjay’s attorney believes the rapper’s recent arrest for gun possession resulted from an illegal police search.
According to TMZ, Tjay’s attorney, Dawn Florio, claimed her client was merely a passenger in the car that was pulled over and it was parked legally on the street.
The 21-year-old was en route to shoot a music video with Ice Spice for their “Gangsta Boo” collaboration in New York City when he was arrested.
Florio added that once police stopped the vehicle, they did not offer a credible reason as to why they carried out a search and the gun they discovered does not belong to her client. She also believes the NYPD targeted the Bronx rapper after he posted about the video shoot on social media.
Lil Tjay remains in jail following his January 16 arrest and has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon. He is currently awaiting arraignment.
Footage of the arrest that surfaced online shows Tjay in handcuffs being escorted to the back of a police cruiser while people off-camera ask the rapper if he was okay.
The arrest comes months after Lil Tjay suffered multiple gunshot wounds during a shooting in front of a Chipotle in Edgewater, New Jersey, in June 2022.
The “Calling My Phone” hitmaker was rushed into emergency surgery, where he was reported to have been unconscious and breathing through a tube for a few days.
Luckily, Tjay was able to make a full recovery and took to social media last August to say that while things were “tough,” he would come back and be “stronger than ever.”
“Hey what’s going on y’all?” he said in a video while wearing a neck brace. “I’m just checking in with y’all. I just wanna say, thanks for the love, thanks for the support. I’ve been looking at the DM’s, seeing the comments and everything else and I feel love.”
Tjay continued: “Seven shots it was tough you know, most people don’t survive it but I’m here. Here for a reason and new music coming soon, we’re gonna come back stronger than ever. Love y’all.”
The BX native dropped his comeback single, “Beat The Odds,” two days later, on which he thanked his fans for their continued love and support. He also released a remix to 50 Cent’s “Many Men,” addressing the near-fatal shooting and issuing a warning to the gunman.
Then in September, Lil Tjay made his triumphant return to the stage at Rolling Loud New York, where he delivered a 13-song set.