Cops release rapper Rod Wave from jail and admit his arrest and gun charge following Florida bar shooting was 'inaccurate'
- Rod Wave, 25, has been released after 'inaccurate' arrest by police
- The incident saw four people injured outside Sonic Sports Bar in St. Petersburg
Rapper Rod Wave has sensationally been released from jail just hours after being arrested in connection with a bar shooting in Florida, with police subsequently admitting it was 'inaccurate' to arrest and charge him.
Rod Wave, 25, whose real name is Rodarius Marcell Green, was initially arrested and charged following the incident that left four bystanders injured outside of Sonic Sports Bar in St. Petersburg.
Rod Wave was subsequently charged with two counts of illegally possessing a firearm or ammunition as a convicted felon on Wednesday morning.
However, a police statement released that day said that one of the charges he was arrested on 'was later determined not to be accurate'.
Speaking on Wednesday evening, St. Petersburg Police Department spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez said: 'He was arrested on a charge that was later determined not to be accurate, so he was released,' she said.
Rapper Rod Wave has sensationally been released from jail just hours after being arrested in connection with a bar shooting in Florida , with police subsequently admitting it was 'inaccurate' to arrest and charge him
Rod Wave, 25, whose real name is Rodarius Marcell Green, was initially arrested and charged following the incident that left four bystanders injured outside of Sonic Sports Bar in St. Petersburg
'This investigation is still open, it's still ongoing and we are still looking to arrest more people and additional charges could be forthcoming.'
Police investigations into the shooting are still ongoing after three other men - Kevontre Wesby, 20, Keith Wesby, 21, and Christopher Atkins, 24 - were arrested on Wednesday.
The error made by police saw them list Rod as a convicted felon, which his attorney, Bradford Cohen, was quick to deny.
'[Rod] has nothing to do with a shooting. There was nothing found in his car and he is not a convicted felon,' Mr Cohen said on Instagram.
Cohen and another of Rod's attorneys, Mark Rankin, released a joint statement on Cohen's Instagram claiming that the judge agreed that the evidence didn't support the charges and that the Florida singer was set free on Wednesday.
'Rod was arrested and detained with absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing,' Cohen captioned the Instagram post featuring a photo of Rod.
'The police claimed he was a felon in possession of ammunition. Not only was he not in possession of ammunition, a basic check of public records would have easily demonstrated to the police that he was not a convicted felon.
'The prosecutor and the judge immediately agreed that the evidence did not support the charge and set him free the same day.'
Although Rod was been charged with a felony in 2017 after carrying a concealed firearm, the charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor.
Police investigations into the shooting are still ongoing after three other men - Kevontre Wesby, 20, (left) Keith Wesby, 21, (centre) and Christopher Atkins, 24 (right) - were arrested on Wednesday
Cohen and another of Rod's attorneys, Mark Rankin, released a joint statement on Cohen's Instagram claiming that the judge agreed that the evidence didn't support the charges and that the Florida singer was set free on Wednesday
The decision by police to arrest Rod Wave and three other individuals comes as detectives have been investigating a 'violent group' that identifies itself as the 'YG's' or 'Young Gangsters,' since March 2022.
Police say various different members of the group - which has been involved in drug trafficking and shootings - have been seen with Rod Wave since summer 2023.
Police say the Wesby brothers and Mr Atkins are connected to the group, adding that the group members are living in homes and driving vehicles registered to Green or his record label.
St. Petersburg Assistant Police Chief MikeKovacsev said the suspects in Sunday's shooting fled in a vehicle that was registered to Green.
