Kanye West protege Desiigner arrested on drug and weapon charges in New York

Rapper Desiigner was among five people arrested Thursday night in New York City after a road-rage altercation allegedly involving a weapon and drugs outside the Lincoln Tunnel connecting New Jersey and Manhattan, The Times has confirmed. 

The 19-year-old, whose real name is Sidney Royel Selby III, was charged with felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and possession of a controlled substance, police said Friday.

Law enforcement responded shortly after 9 p.m. to a 911 report that a passenger in a white Cadillac Escalade had allegedly stepped out of the SUV during a traffic-related argument, flicked a lighted cigarette and brandished a gun at another motorist, then fled the scene in the vehicle, police said.

The Escalade and its passengers, who were Manhattan-bound from New Jersey, were tracked down nearby at 42nd Street and Dyer Avenue, and all five were taken into custody, police said. Law-enforcement sources told TMZ, which first reported the arrest, that Oxycontin was among a large quantity of pills in the vehicle. The five were charged with criminal possession, but only “Panda” performer Desiigner was charged with criminal menacing and possession of a weapon. TMZ reported that the five were also charged with possession of drugs with intent to sell, but police did not confirm that to The Times. 

Brooklyn-based Desiigner was signed by Kanye West to the G.O.O.D. record label in February, was a 2016 Grammy Award nominee for best new artist and sat in the front row Wednesday with Pusha T and Quavo of the group Migos at West’s time-sucking Yeezy Season 4 show during New York Fashion Week.

A rep for Desiigner did not respond immediately to a request for comment. 

Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ

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