Lil Uzi Vert MISIDENTIFIED by cops as dognapper… because the actual suspect had the rapper as his social media profile pic

Lil Uzi Vert MISIDENTIFIED by cops as dognapper… because the actual suspect had the rapper as his social media profile pic

By Sameer Suri For Dailymail.com

Updated: 03:38 BST, 1 September 2023

Lil Uzi Vert was briefly misidentified by local police as the suspect in a dognapping case in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania.

The misunderstanding arose because the actual suspect had Uzi as his profile picture on social media, according to TMZ.

As a result, the pet store the puppy was stolen from allegedly sent Uzi’s picture to the Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department.

The police then included a photo of the rapper in a Facebook post about the dognapping, warning the public to ‘Be on the lookout.’

In short order, Facebook users leapt into the comments section to point out that the the picture was in fact of Lil Uzi Vert.

Snafu: Lil Uzi Vert was briefly misidentified by local police as the suspect in a dognapping case in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania

About half an hour after the mistaken post went up, it was removed and replaced with one that featured a picture of the actual suspect.

The Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department has placed the blame for the snafu squarely on the shoulders of the pet store involved.

In the shop’s version of events, the police replaced their post once they realized that the suspect’s face tattoos were different from Lil Uzi Vert’s.

Roc Nation, which works with Uzi, released a furious statement about the blunder and noted he was not even in the area of the dognapping.

‘The Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department should be embarrassed and ashamed for disparaging [Uzi’s] character,’ the record label thundered.

‘This grave error could’ve had significant repercussions on Uzi’s career and epitomizes how Black men can be wrongfully charged and arrested by police departments across the country.’

Roc Nation, which was founded by Jay-Z, added for good measure: ‘Uzi loves all animals and this serious mistake has deterred the apprehension of the kidnapper. Our collective hope is that the puppy is safely and promptly rescued.’ 

The police error comes about a year and a half after Uzi took a plea bargain in an assault case involving his ex-girlfriend Brittany Byrd and the rapper St Jhn.

The original post: The misunderstanding arose because the actual suspect had Uzi as his profile picture on social media; the police’s first Facebook post with Uzi is pictured

The fixed post: About half an hour after the mistaken post went up, it was removed and replaced with a picture of the actual suspect (pictured)

Brittany had accused Uzi of striking her and holding a gun to her stomach after he saw her meeting with St Jhn at a restaurant.

Uzi ultimately pled no contest to one count of misdemeanor injury to a girlfriend and one count of felony assault with a firearm.

He was sentenced to pay restitution, as well as to undergo year’s worth of mental health and substance abuse and three years’ probation.

The rapper was also required to attend 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling, and was further slapped with a 10-year criminal protective order. 

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