On Sunday, March 31, a group of men hopped out of an Infiniti SUV and shot into a large crowd outside of Sonic Sports Bar and Lounge in St. Petersburg, Florida. Four people, including a 17-year-old girl, were shot and injured during the incident. The injuries were reported to be non-life threatening per police.
After the shooting, the men fled the scene to a home on Palm Avenue--one rented by Rod Wave.
Rod Wave, née Rodarius Marcell Green, is a Floridian rapper and R&B singer best known for hits like "Street Runner" and "Fight the Feeling." Police claimed that the five suspects involved in the Sunday shooting are "acquaintances" of the rapper. Wave also owns the Infiniti SUV in which the shooters arrived and fled the chaotic scene.
The house in St. Petersburg, along with another home in Manatee County, were searched by police on Monday, April 1. Police found handguns, rifles, live ammunition and "more than 10,000 in cash" between the two homes. Per the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, many of these seized items were reported to be owned by Rod Wave. Multiple people were arrested at the two locations.
Wave was among those arrested. He was charged with two counts of possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. However, as his attorney, Mark Rankin, pointed out, Wave is not a convicted felon.
Despite an affidavit saying that Wave was previously convicted of a felony, court records indicate that he actually plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon in November 2017. In 2022, Wave was arrested for choking his ex-girlfriend and was charged with domestic battery, but the charge was later dropped.
Rankin described Wave's Wednesday arrest as "completely invalid from the start."
Bradford Cohen, one of Wave's lawyers whose bio reads "Lawyer to unfamous, infamous and famous," posted on Instagram about his client's innocence. He explained that there was "no evidence of wrongdoing" on Wave's behalf. Furthermore, "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.
Wave was later released on Wednesday evening.
Yolanda Fernandez of the St. Petersburg Police Department explained what went wrong, and how the "Heart on Ice" singer was arrested. She said that there was "an error made in the information that was given to the detective at the scene."
Continuing, she explained that Wave was "immediately released" once it was determined that he was, in fact, not a convicted felon, so the charge against him was rendered false.
Though Wave is not being charged for the shooting, police are investigating him for the various seized items discovered at both houses.
All five suspects in the Easter Sunday shooting have now been arrested. Police claim that some of these suspects are members of the Young Gangsters gang, and have previously been "seen" with Wave. Police have yet to determine a motive for the shooting.
