Juelz Santana was released from prison back in August after the rapper served time on a weapons possession charge after he fled New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport when a firearm was discovered in his bag.
Juelz sat down for Fat Joe’s Instagram Live show to discuss the details of what happened that day at the airport for the first time.
The Dipset rapper explained he had been at a video shoot the night before in Queens and brought the gun with him for protection.
Nothing happened at the video shoot, but Juelz forgot the gun was in the bag when he left for the airport to catch a flight to Los Angeles the next morning.
“I go to TSA and put my bag through security… In my mind, for everyone that’s listening, that’s not even on my mind,” he explained. “Got my bag. I go through security; it went through. The dude from Newark airport, he knows me. He about to check the bag. Someone called from the screening point where the screen is at and said, nah, we gotta run it through again.”
Juelz wasn’t worried about the second security check and was focused on making his flight until TSA agents asked him what was in the bag. To make matters worse, Juelz had an outstanding warrant in New Jersey. He was then informed that outside police would be coming to search the bag.
However, one of the agents showed Juelz how he could get out of the airport, so he ditched the luggage and took the opportunity, walking out with the intention to send his brother back to get his bag.
“The fact that they had the warrant and they said higher authorities are going to search your bag. So I’m like, they gon’ lock me up for the weekend,” he said. “I literally walked. Everybody saying, ‘He ran out the airport. He had one shoe on…’ I get in the cab. I hear, on Hot 97… So gettin’ close to my crib, [Hot 97] said, ‘Rapper Juelz Santana Flees Newark airport after firearm was retrieved from his bag.’ I’m like, ‘What?! Ain’t no firearm retrieved from my bag.'”
Once Juelz got home, he realized that the gun from the video shoot was still in the bag.
Juelz later turned himself in to authorities three days after the incident occurred and pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and carrying a weapon on an aircraft.
