Rapper YG Surrenders to Las Vegas Police Over Cosmopolitan Robbery Charge

Twist My Fingaz rapper YG turned himself in to Las Vegas Metro last Thursday, after a warrant was issued for the performer on felony robbery charges related to an incident at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas in May.

YG Cosmopolitan robbery
YG is alleged to have ripped a chain off a fan’s neck during an altercation at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas in May. The incident seems to be part of a new trend for bad celebrity behavior at the Strip Casino. (Image: Timothy Norris/Rolling Stone)

The 29-year-old YG — whose real name is Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson —  is alleged to have ripped a chain from a fan’s neck and pocketed it, before allegedly inviting his entourage to beat the man up. The incident occurred at around 4 am PT on May 27, according to police documents seen by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Compton native, a self-proclaimed member of the L.A. street gang known as the Bloods, surrendered to police during an initial court appearance at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, according to a police spokesman. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and released on $20,000 bail.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

Has the Cosmopolitan become a mecca for celebrities behaving badly? Whether it’s an allegedly drunk and disorderly OJ Simpson and his entourage smashing glasses, or former NBA star Charles Oakley allegedly cheating at blackjack, it’s all been going off at the Cosmo lately.

Police claim Jackson was walking through the casino when a fan approached to ask for a selfie with the star. Jackson’s entourage of around 12 people “pushed him away,” according to police, prompting the man to claim Jackson was not a “big celebrity anyway.”

“Once he made that remark, the group of men turned on him and started following him,” according to the arrest report. The victim told police that Jackson then ripped the man’s chain off his neck, which was worth between a reported $3,000 and $9,000.

Casino surveillance footage obtained by police shows the rapper walking away from the man with “a shiny object in his hand,” according to court documents.

The victim is suing Jackson independently and claims that an assault ensued at YG’s instigation, the TMZ website says. The unnamed man is reportedly seeking $250,000 in damages.

Still Brazy After All These Years

Jackson has a 2009 burglary conviction in California, according to court records. In January 2012, shots were fired during the filming of his I’m a Thug music video and the shoot was closed down by cops.

In June 2015, he was shot in the hip during a recording session at the Studio City studio in Los Angeles. Despite his injuries, police described him as “very uncooperative” during the ensuing investigation.

Jackson, as is Bloods’ practice, replaces the letter “C” with a “B” in his music and general conversation, as in Still Brazy and I’m from Bompton.

“I didn’t make up ‘Bompton,’” he admitted during an interview with Vlad TV. “But I’m the first one to come out with a song called ‘Bompton’ or ‘I’m from Bompton,’” he claimed. “We change our C words to B’s. It ain’t no disrespect,” he added.

The rapper will be back in bourt October 8.

Philip Conneller
Philip Conneller Senior Reporter

In Philip Conneller’s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation.

Philip was the original features editor for poker’s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites.

His news stories for Casino.org/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others.

Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John’s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic.

He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist.

Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC.

Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.

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  • GS
    Get it straight February 8, 2019
    This article reads, "...or former NBA star Charles Barkley allegedly cheating at blackjack,". That needs to be corrected to "Charles Oakley". Easy mistake… This article reads, "...or former NBA star Charles Barkley allegedly cheating at blackjack,". That needs to be corrected to "Charles Oakley". Easy mistake to make, easy to correct.
    Reply
  • M
    Morgan July 27, 2018
    He a piece of shit and one of the reasons the US is going down the toilet. We glorify this type of crap. He’s a gang… He a piece of shit and one of the reasons the US is going down the toilet. We glorify this type of crap. He’s a gang member and should be in jail.
    Reply

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