21 Savage Wants to Prevent Prosecutors From Using Evidence Collected During 2019 Arrest

21 Savage, whose real name is Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, is reportedly demanding that all evidence collected during his 2019 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest be tossed out. The London-born rapper’s attorney recently filed a motion to suppress that would prevent prosecutors from using any of the evidence collected during what they called an “unlawful stop.” An “unlawful stop” occurs when a driver is pulled over by law enforcement without sufficient evidence that a crime or traffic violation has occurred.

During the said stop, law enforcement officials retrieved a handgun from the young rapper’s vehicle. According to Savage, “there was no illegality for the weapon to be in the car,” and he was “doing nothing wrong” when he was pulled over. Officials further claim that during this arrest, Savage allegedly tried to throw away an empty bottle of codeine. 

Savage reportedly was not charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in DeKalb County until January 2022, meaning that those charges would need to be resolved first before his immigration case can formally begin. 

The rapper’s legal team has filed the motion in an effort to prevent prosecutors from using the evidence collected during the arrest, which took place in February 2019, when 21 Savage was detained by ICE in Atlanta for illegally living in the United States. The decision in Mapp v. Ohio established that the exclusionary rule applies to evidence gained from an unreasonable search or seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment. What exactly is the exclusionary rule though? The exclusionary rule prevents the government from using most evidence gathered in violation of the United States Constitution. The exclusionary rule usually applies to the suppression of physical evidence (for example, a murder weapon, stolen property, or illegal drugs) that the police seized in violation of a defendant’s Fourth Amendment right not to be subjected to unreasonable search and seizure.

Unbeknownst to the public, Savage was born in England and entered the United States legally in 2005, but his visa had expired. Savage reportedly was not charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in DeKalb County until January 2022, meaning that those charges would need to be resolved first before his immigration case can formally begin.