American rapper, Snoop Dogg’s petition to seal his 1993 mu&der charge has been granted 28 years after he was acquitted of shooting a gang member.
The rapper, now 52, and his bodyguard, McKinley Lee, were accused of the shooting and murder of a gang member called Philip Woldemariam in 1993 at Palms’ Woodbine Park in Los Angeles in August 1993. They later went on trial facing first and second-degree murder charges in 1996.
The release of Snoop’s first album came shortly before his highly publicized trial and after he was cleared, the Drop It Like It’s Hot hitmaker has continued to enjoy enormous mainstream success.
Legal documents obtained by TMZ confirmed Snoop real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. asked a judge to seal the records in January 2024, with the court signing off the request in late February,
Sealing the charge means the record is hidden from the public and won’t appear on background checks for employment, housing, and education.
In 1993, he was charged with being an accessory in the fatal shooting of a member of a rival gang, who’d allegedly been killed by one of the star’s bodyguards.
Prosecutors said Snoop had been driving the car from which the gun was fired. Despite the charge, he was controversially allowed to tour Britain. A tabloid headline reacted by proclaiming: ‘Kick this evil b*****d out’.
Snoop subsequently and extraordinarily claimed that the late Queen personally intervened over moves to keep him out of Britain.
Snoop then 24 – was seen looking shocked and clasping his hands in prayer when he and his bodyguard were acquitted.
Jurors also acquitted the pair on one charge each of conspiracy to commit assault in connection with Woldemariam’s death.
Snoop, who had remained free on $ 1 million bail alongside Lee, told the LA Times after the acquittal: They made the right decision, you know what I’m saying?
‘This has been an ordeal that has affected our lives for the past 2 1/2 years. I was just trying to figure out if I was going to be here to raise my son.’
The father-of-four is a parent to Cordé, 29, Cordell, 27, and Cori, 25, from his 27-year marriage to Shante Broadus, and son Julian, 26, from a former relationship with Laurie Holmond.