Snoop Dogg’s arrests span more than three decades and include a 1990 felony drug conviction, a 1993 murder charge that ended in acquittal, a run of weapons and drug arrests in 2006, international detentions in the United Kingdom and Sweden, a 2012 marijuana citation in Texas, and a civil sexual assault lawsuit filed in 2022. Most of the criminal cases ended in probation, pleas, or acquittal rather than prison time.
1990 Drug Conviction and 1993 Firearm Plea
The rapper, born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., first entered the criminal system with a 1990 felony conviction for cocaine possession and possession for sale.1The Age. Snoop Dogg’s Rap Sheet On July 21, 1993, police stopped his car in Long Beach and found a gun. He pleaded guilty to being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and received three years of probation, a $1,000 fine, and an order to produce public service announcements telling teenagers not to carry guns.2UPI. Snoop Doggy Dogg Sentenced
The 1993 Murder Case
The most serious arrest came weeks later. On August 25, 1993, 20-year-old Philip Woldemariam was shot and killed in a Los Angeles park.3Encyclopedia.com. Snoop Doggy Dogg Trial 1995-96 Broadus and his bodyguard, McKinley “Malik” Lee, were charged with murder. Prosecutors said the pair had tracked Woldemariam down after he flashed a gang sign outside Broadus’s apartment.4CNN. Snoop Doggy Dogg Acquitted Lee fired the fatal shot from Broadus’s vehicle.
The trial ran from November 1995 through February 1996. The defense argued self-defense, and prosecution witnesses conceded they had taken a pistol from Woldemariam as he lay dying to strengthen the case against the defendants.5Los Angeles Times. Rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, Bodyguard Acquitted of Murder On February 20, 1996, after six days of deliberation, jurors acquitted both men of first- and second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit assault. They deadlocked 9-3 on voluntary manslaughter, and the judge declared a mistrial on that count.4CNN. Snoop Doggy Dogg Acquitted The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office declined to retry either defendant.3Encyclopedia.com. Snoop Doggy Dogg Trial 1995-96
Woldemariam’s family filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit. It settled on confidential terms in August 1996, just before trial.6Los Angeles Times. Snoop Doggy Dogg Settles Lawsuit
The 2006 Arrest Cluster
A decade after the murder acquittal, Snoop Dogg was arrested four times in about seven months, mostly around airports.
Heathrow Airport, April 2006
A brawl broke out at London’s Heathrow Airport after members of Snoop Dogg’s entourage were denied entry to the British Airways first-class lounge on economy tickets. Roughly 30 people were involved, and seven police officers were injured, including one with a fractured hand.7The Guardian. Snoop Dogg Arrested at Heathrow Snoop Dogg and five others were arrested on violent disorder and affray charges.8Times Argus. Rapper Snoop Dogg Leaves Britain After Airport Fray He accepted a police caution for using threatening words or behavior.1The Age. Snoop Dogg’s Rap Sheet British Airways banned him from its flights, and the UK barred him from entering the country. He successfully appealed that ban in January 2008.96abc. Snoop Dogg UK Ban Lifted
John Wayne Airport, September 2006
On September 27, 2006, Snoop Dogg was detained at John Wayne Airport in Orange County after a 21-inch collapsible police baton was found in his luggage as he boarded a flight.10Daily News. Gun at Airport Lands Snoop in Jail
Bob Hope Airport, October 2006
On October 26, 2006, police stopped his car in a passenger loading area at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and found a gun and marijuana inside.11Billboard. Snoop Dogg Charged in Burbank Airport Arrest
After the Tonight Show, November 2006
On November 28, 2006, police arrested him again after a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Officers executing a search warrant tied to the Burbank arrest recovered a handgun, marijuana, and cocaine, and found a false compartment in his car.12Hollywood Reporter. Snoop Dogg Arrested After Leno Taping He was held about seven hours and released on $60,000 bail.13CBC. Snoop Dogg Arrested on Weapons Charge
How the 2006 Cases Resolved
On April 11, 2007, Snoop Dogg pleaded no contest to two Burbank felonies: gun possession by a convicted felon and a marijuana-related drug charge. He received a three-year suspended sentence, five years of probation, and 800 hours of community service.14Los Angeles Times. Snoop Dogg Pleads No Contest to Felony Charges15Orange County District Attorney. Rap Singer Pleads Guilty to Carrying Dangerous Weapon Into John Wayne Airport16CBS News. Snoop Dogg Pleads Guilty to Weapons Charge
Fallout Abroad: Australia and Sweden
The 2006 pleas had consequences overseas. In April 2007, Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews denied Snoop Dogg a visa, citing his “extensive criminal record” and failure to pass the country’s character test. The government pointed to the recent California gun and drug pleas and the Heathrow affray. He had 28 days to appeal.17Billboard. Snoop Dogg Denied Entry Into Australia
Sweden detained him twice. In 2007, police took him from a concert near Stockholm to a station for a urine sample, then released him.1The Age. Snoop Dogg’s Rap Sheet In July 2015, police in Uppsala pulled over his car on suspicion he was under the influence, held him about an hour, took a urine sample, and released him. Snoop Dogg called it racial profiling and said he would not return to Sweden. He later said no evidence of drug use was found.18ABC News. Snoop Dogg Says He Was Racially Profiled in Sweden
2012 Texas Marijuana Citation
On January 7, 2012, U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped Snoop Dogg’s tour bus at a checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas, and found about 0.13 pounds of marijuana. Hudspeth County sheriff’s deputies issued him a citation for marijuana possession, a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to $2,000 in fines and 180 days in jail. He was released at the scene.19Texas Tribune. Musician Nabbed in West Texas for Pot Possession
2022 Sexual Assault Lawsuit
Days before Snoop Dogg’s Super Bowl LVI halftime performance in February 2022, a woman identified as “Jane Doe” sued him and an associate, Donald Campbell, in California, alleging they sexually assaulted her in 2013 after a concert in Anaheim. She claimed Broadus forced her to perform oral sex and that she complied out of fear for her safety and job.20BBC. Snoop Dogg Faces Sexual Assault Lawsuit A spokesperson called the allegations “meritless” and a “shakedown scheme,” saying he never had a sexual encounter with her and that she was never his employee.21Los Angeles Times. Snoop Dogg Lawsuit Refiled
The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the first suit without prejudice in April 2022 and refiled in federal court that July.22People. Snoop Dogg’s Accuser Refiles Sexual Assault Lawsuit As of April 2024, the case was pending in Los Angeles Superior Court, with a February 22, 2024 ruling that denied dismissal of the underlying sexual assault and battery claims while finding certain attorney correspondence was protected speech.23KIIS FM. Snoop Dogg Seeks Nearly $110K in Attorneys’ Fees After Mixed Speech Ruling
Tupac Shakur’s Murder: Not a Suspect
Snoop Dogg has never been arrested, charged, or formally implicated by police in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur. Las Vegas police have confirmed he has never been a suspect.24Spokesman-Review. Man Charged in Tupac Shakur’s Death Claims Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Ordered Hit The only person charged is Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, with trial scheduled for August 2026 as of the most recent court proceedings.25Fox 5 Vegas. Duane Davis Due in Court for Hearing on Evidence in Tupac Murder Trial Public accusations against Snoop Dogg have come mainly from Suge Knight, the imprisoned former head of Death Row Records; Snoop Dogg has called those claims lies.26Vice. Snoop Dogg Hits Back at Suge Knight’s Tupac Murder Allegations