FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2014 file photo, Young Jeezy performs at Power 105.1's Powerhouse 2014 at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. A judge on Thursday Dec. 11, 2014, dismissed a possession of an assault weapon charge filed in Orange County Superior Court after a prosecutor said new evidence in the case did not support prosecuting the platinum-selling rapper or five others police arrested after finding an AK-47 at a venue where he was performing. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Republished December 11, 2014 - 1:07 PM
Original Publication Date December 11, 2014 - 10:25 AM
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - A felony weapons charge against platinum-selling rapper Young Jeezy has been dismissed after a prosecutor said there wasn't enough evidence to support the case.
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Renee Jones sought the dismissal during a court hearing Thursday but declined to elaborate on what new information led to it.
Jeezy, whose real name is Jay Wayne Jenkins, and five others were arrested in August after authorities served a search warrant at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Irvine and found an AK-47.
Police were investigating the death of a man who was shot backstage at a concert Jeezy co-headlined with Wiz Khalifa days earlier at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. Jeezy and the other five, who included a tour bus driver and his wife, were never identified as suspects in the killing.
Jeezy and the others each pleaded not guilty to a single count of felony possession of an assault weapon.
The rapper did not attend Thursday's hearing but attacked his arrest and the filing of charges. "I pray this had nothing to do with race, but it definitely had nothing to do with evidence," Jeezy wrote.
He criticized what he called a rush to judgment by the media and police.
"I'm relieved that the truth has ultimately prevailed, and I would like to thank those who have always stood by me including my family and fans," Jeezy wrote.
Jones said the investigation into the shooting death of Eric Johnson, 38, is ongoing.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert C. Gannon granted the dismissal and said he would sign orders allowing Jeezy and his entourage to regain their passports and other property seized from them.
Jeezy's attorney Blair Berk said she was pleased the case was dropped but said the rapper should not have been arrested or charged.
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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP
News from © The Associated Press, 2014