Rod Wave was arrested on two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon or ammunition in Manatee County, Florida on Wednesday (April 3), according to arrest records seen by Advertising sign.
The St. Petersburg Police Department held a news conference after the arrest, claiming Rod — born Rodarius Marcell Green — was connected to a gang-related shooting in Florida that left four bystanders injured outside the Sonic Sports Bar in St. Petersburg.
Chief of the St. Petersburg Police Mike Kovaceff explained that three of the arrested perpetrators (Christopher Atkins, Keith Westby and Kevontre Wesby) are allegedly associated with the Young Gangsters gang and that two others are in the process of being arrested after law enforcement authorities discovered 60 shell casings at the scene of the shootings, which took place on Sunday night (March 31).
Kovacsev claimed the getaway vehicle used in the shooting was registered to Rod and that the Palm Avenue residence the group fled to was also reportedly registered to the “Heart On Ice” singer.
“The vehicle they escaped with was registered [Green]”, Kovacev said. “They also moved back to a residence at 500 Palm Avenue North… This residence was rented by [Green] also. We executed a search warrant at that location Monday night and recovered two rifles, two pounds of marijuana and a lot of evidence that we are going to use in the case going forward.”
Police found that “another residence” was being rented by Rod in Palm Meadows and turned their focus to that location, where they executed a search warrant. The people leaving that residence were arrested on weapons charges by undercover detectives and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
“We are optimistic and expect possibly more evidence to be removed from the vehicles as we execute search warrants over the next couple of days,” Kovacsev added. “We went and had the Manatee County Sheriff's Office execute that warrant and we located a number of other rifles and a handgun inside that residence.”
The police chief said that along with the firearms, money and jewelery were also seized. More charges related to the shooting and drugs are likely.
Rod's gun charges listed him as a convicted felon, which his attorney, Bradford Cohen, categorically denies. Cohen also denies connecting Wave to the shooting.
“[Rod] it has nothing to do with a shooting,” says Cohen Advertising sign. “Nothing was found in his car and he is not a criminal.”
Cohen and another of Rod's lawyers, Mark Rankinposted a joint statement on Cohen's Instagram claiming that the judge agreed that the evidence did not support the charges and that the Florida singer was released on Wednesday.
“Rod was arrested and detained with absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing,” Cohen captioned the Instagram post with a photo of Rod. “The police claimed he was a criminal in possession of ammunition. Not only was he not in possession of ammunition, but a basic check of public records would have easily proved to the police that he was not a criminal. The prosecutor and judge immediately agreed that the evidence did not support the charge and released him the same day.”
Rod was previously arrested in his hometown of St. Petersburg in May 2022 on a felony charge of battery by strangulation, which was dismissed weeks later. That arrest stemmed from an April 2022 incident involving Wave and his ex-girlfriend, who claimed the singer entered her home and choked her, according to the arrest warrant.
Advertising sign has contacted the St. Petersburg Police Department for additional information.
This is a developing story.
