Rapper Lil Tjay was scheduled to be discharged on $90,000 bail Wednesday after being arrested earlier this week on illegal firearm charges while filming a music video in the Bronx.
The 21-year-old musician, whose actual name is Tione Jayden Merritt, was arrested Monday after authorities pulled over his Cadillac Escalade and discovered multiple loaded pistols, according to cops.
According to a criminal legal complaint in Bronx Criminal Court, police approached the SUV between 183rd Street and Ryer Avenue just after 4 p.m. because it was idling in a no-standing zone.
According to the complaint, Merritt and four other males were accused after authorities discovered two loaded.380-caliber pistols and two loaded 9mm handg*ns inside the car.
Lil Tjay is set to be released on a $90K bond after NYC g*n arrest 🙏 pic.twitter.com/niYFIBRQwA
— WhatsOnRap (@whatsonrap) January 18, 2023
According to the lawsuit, none of the accused possessed a valid firearms license. Merritt, a rapper from the Bronx, has been charged with felony second-degree criminal possession of a firearm.
Merritt was detained on Rikers Island on Wednesday but was scheduled to be freed later that day after famous bail bondsman Ira Judelson posted his bond.
“He didn’t get out because the judge wouldn’t [take time] to sign or look at the bond,” defense lawyer Dawn Florio said after Merritt’s arraignment in Bronx court shortly after midnight. “It was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The truck included four weapons, according to police. “There was a g*n that was allegedly found behind the driver’s seat in the back,” Florio said.
Regarding the accusations in the lawsuit, she stated that one pistol was discovered on a licensed security guard. And two firearms in a safe. They began searching the car and discovered the g*ns.