A of pet theft in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, had police officers mistakenly believing the culprit was rapper Lil Uzi Vert.
According to TMZ, the misunderstanding stemmed from the actual suspect having Uzi's face as his profile picture on social media.
In response to the puppy being stolen, the pet store sent Uzi's picture to the Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department.
The police then used this information to post a photo of the rapper on Facebook alongside an alert warning people about the dognapping. They advised citizens to "Be on the lookout."
Once the picture had been posted, it did not take long for Facebook users to alert the authorities that the image was of the 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is Symere Bysil Woods.
As a result, after roughly thirty minutes, the initial post was taken down and replaced with an accurate representation of the suspect.
Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department has assigned full responsibility for this mix-up to a local pet store. According to their narrative, when authorities noticed discrepancies in facial tattoos between the suspect and Lil Uzi Vert, they replaced their original post.
A strong condemnation came from the rapper's collaborators at the record label Roc Nation in response to the incident.
They expressed dismay over the Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department's handling of the situation and declared that Uzi had nothing to do with it.
"Uzi's mistake could have caused significant issues for his career, illuminating the wrongful arrests frequently experienced by African-American males throughout the United States. These arrests are often carried out unfairly by police forces nationwide."
Roc Nation, spearheaded by Jay-Z, added to the statement: "Uzi has great compassion for animals, and this unfortunate event has hindered apprehending the offender. We desperately wish for the puppy to be found unharmed and swiftly."
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Approximately eighteen months after the "Just Wanna Rock" rapper took a plea deal about an altercation with his ex-girlfriend Brittany Byrd and artist St Jhn, law enforcement personnel have made this petnapping mistake.
Upon witnessing her meeting with St Jhn at a restaurant, Uzi was accused by his girlfriend, Brittany, of hitting her and pointing a gun at her abdomen.
Subsequently, he entered a plea of no contest to one charge each of misdemeanor injury to a companion as well as felony assault with a firearm.
The consequences for the rapper were severe - mandated restitution, one year of mental health and substance abuse counseling, three years of probation, 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling, plus a 10-year criminal protective order.
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