Rapper Soulja Boy, whose legal name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was arrested in Los Angeles early on August 3, 2025, on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Two days later, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges, citing insufficient evidence that the gun belonged to him, and he was released from jail that afternoon.1Billboard. Soulja Boy Released From Jail After Gun Charges Declined
What Happened at the Traffic Stop
Around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 3, 2025, LAPD Wilshire Division officers pulled over a vehicle near Melrose Avenue and North Genesee Avenue in Los Angeles.2NBC Los Angeles. Rapper Soulja Boy Arrested in Melrose Following Traffic Stop Way was a passenger. Officers reported seeing a firearm inside the car and took him into custody.3Deadline. Soulja Boy Arrested on Suspected Weapons Charge During Traffic Stop He was booked into the Wilshire Division jail on suspicion of felony firearm possession by a convicted felon.4ABC 7 New York. Rapper Soulja Boy Arrested on Weapons Charge During Traffic Stop
Police did not publicly say what prompted the stop. According to Rolling Stone, both Way and the driver denied the firearm was theirs.5Rolling Stone. Soulja Boy Arrest Gun Possession Prosecutor Declines Case
Why Prosecutors Dropped the Case
On August 5, 2025, the LA County DA’s Office declined to file charges. A spokesperson said the case “was declined due to insufficient evidence.” Way walked out of custody shortly before 2:00 p.m. that day, after roughly two and a half days in jail.1Billboard. Soulja Boy Released From Jail After Gun Charges Declined
His attorney, Rickey Ivie, told Billboard that prosecutors concluded the evidence did not show the gun was in Way’s “possession, custody or control,” adding that “based upon the reported evidence, it appears that he should have never been arrested.”1Billboard. Soulja Boy Released From Jail After Gun Charges Declined
Why He Was Treated as a Felon in Possession
The suspected charge rested on Way’s prior criminal record. In 2014, officers found a concealed weapon during a traffic stop in Granada Hills, California, where he was a passenger. He was convicted of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle and sentenced to two years of probation, a conviction that barred him from legally possessing guns or ammunition.6Los Angeles Times. Soulja Boy Charge Stolen Gun Huntington Beach Police7CNN. Soulja Boy Jail Sentencing
In December 2016, police raided Way’s Hollywood Hills home while investigating an ex-girlfriend’s kidnapping and assault allegations, and officers found an illegal firearm, violating his probation.8Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Soulja Boy Reportedly Sentenced to 240 Days in Jail for Violating Probation In April 2017, he pleaded no contest to one felony count of weapons possession and a misdemeanor charge, receiving five years of probation and 240 days of community service.9ABC News. Rapper Soulja Boy Arrested on Weapon Charge During Traffic Stop
He later violated that probation too. In April 2019, a Los Angeles judge sentenced him to 240 days in jail and 265 days of community service, noting the possible exposure was up to two years in state prison.8Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Soulja Boy Reportedly Sentenced to 240 Days in Jail for Violating Probation He spent close to eight months behind bars, according to the BBC.10BBC. Soulja Boy Arrest Report
Because those earlier felony convictions remain on his record, California Penal Code Section 29800 made any possession of a firearm or ammunition unlawful for him, which is why police arrested him on the felon-in-possession suspicion when a gun was spotted in the car.11FindLaw. California Penal Code Section 29800 The DA’s decision not to prosecute means no new conviction resulted from the August 2025 stop.
Other Pending Legal Trouble
The August arrest was criminal, but Way has also been on the losing end of two civil cases in recent years.
In April 2023, a jury found Way had engaged in “malice, oppression or fraud” and awarded ex-girlfriend Kayla Myers $235,900 in compensatory damages over allegations he beat her, hit her head with a gun, and had her bound with duct tape at his Agoura Hills home in February 2019.12Complex. Soulja Boy Pay Ex-Girlfriend Assault Kidnapping Case Punitive damages of $236,000 were later added, bringing the total to roughly $471,900.13Billboard. Soulja Boy Pay Ex-Girlfriend Assault Kidnapping Case Way denied the allegations.
Then, on April 10, 2025, a Santa Monica jury found him liable for sexual battery, assault, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment, and nonpayment of wages in a suit brought by a former personal assistant, awarding $4.25 million.14Courthouse News Service. Jury Finds Soulja Boy Liable to Tune of $4 Million in Sexual Assault Civil Trial15NY1. Jury Finds Soulja Boy Liable for Abuse and Sexual Assault of Ex-Assistant The trial judge denied his request for a new trial but expressed skepticism about the size of the punitive award, and Way’s appeal was pending as of the most recent reporting.16Courthouse News Service. Judge Considers Trimming $4.25 Million Soulja Boy Sexual Assault Verdict
A separate 2021 lawsuit from a “Jane Doe” plaintiff, who alleged assault, domestic violence, sexual battery, gender violence, and a beating in 2015 that caused a miscarriage, is also on record; the available reporting does not indicate a resolution.17Rolling Stone. Soulja Boy Pay Ex-Girlfriend Assault Kidnapping Case