Black, whose real name is Dieuson Octave, is now right back where he spent the majority of 2015 to 2017 — locked inside the Broward Sheriff's Office main jail in Fort Lauderdale. But his lawyers have filed a brief to get Kodak out on bond, claiming too many people hang out in his home to definitively say who owned the 96 grams of weed and stolen Beretta that were found in his closet.
"BSO deputies assisted Florida Probation and Parole Officers with an administrative search of the Defendant’s residence, which is not leased to the named Defendant and in which at least four other people reside," Black's lawyers wrote. "That is not to mention the plethora of other recording artists, friends and various locals who use the Defendant’s recording studio and collaborate regularly with him."
In fact, the lawyers argue, no one can prove the last time the rapper even slept in the house.
"It is unknown when the Defendant, who is currently in the midst of a nationwide tour, last slept in this bedroom or who else has slept in his bedroom while he was away for work," they write.
For what it's worth, nobody should ever go to prison for weed, and way, way more people ought to be let out of jail on bond, probation, and the like. But Black separately stands accused of a number of extremely heinous violent crimes: In 2017, a South Carolina grand jury indicted Black on first-degree rape charges, after he allegedly held a teenage girl down in a hotel room, ripped off her underwear, bit her, and forced her to have sex with him as she screamed for help. The alleged victim first reported the incident to a school nurse, who then contacted the police. Black faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Black has otherwise bounced in and out of the Broward County Jail for years for a series of other charges, including a 2015 arrest for robbery, battery, and false imprisonment of both a child and an adult. He was arrested twice the following year, once for weapons possession and fleeing cops, and again for armed robbery and false imprisonment. In February 2017, he was arrested after allegedly leaving his home — and violating the conditions of his house arrest — to go to a strip club. The #FreeKodak hashtag used to be a rallying cry for many of Black's fans, but, as New Times noted in a 2016 profile, much of his support waned after the aforementioned South Carolina teen said Black raped her.
The rapper was already out on probation when BSO raided his home last week. Given that Black and his entourage seem to get a bit of joy from transparently live-streaming themselves, say, violating the terms of Black's house arrest or obviously smoking weed all the time, he is an easy target for local cops.
During last week's raid, Black was filmed arguing with BSO officers about handing over his cell phone, which cops said was part of a "search warrant" that had been executed on his home:
Since he was already out on probation, Black's bond was initially revoked. He's still sitting in the BSO main jail. But Black's well-heeled legal team is still fighting for his release and argued yesterday that there isn't enough direct evidence to keep him stuck behind bars until his trial wraps up, which might be years from now. His lawyers also contend that he should be allowed to go back to work touring and making albums in the
"To reiterate, the 'Instagram Live' video giving rise to the instant charges against the Defendant depict other individuals engaged in alleged drug use and in control of an alleged firearm," Black's legal team writes. "Assuming this Honorable Court can get to the point where they believe, without evidence, that the alleged drugs in the video are real or that the alleged weapon in the video is real, it still wouldn’t substantiate a finding of disregard for the safety of the community, that finding would speak only to the other individuals in the bathroom and not the Defendant."
