Polo G Arrested on Weapons Charges in New York

Polo G was arrested on Wednesday (April 10) in New York on a pair of weapons charges, a spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed to Billboard on Friday (April 12).

Police relayed that the Chicago rapper — born Taurus Bartlett — was arrested and brought into custody on charges of criminal possession of a firearm as well as criminal possession of a weapon.

“On Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at approximately 1209 hours, police responded to a 911 call for found property at 246 Spring Street,” the NYPD spokesperson said via email. “Upon arrival, it was reported to officers that there is a firearm at the location. An individual was placed into custody at the location without incident.”

Based on the address given by law enforcement, it appears the arrest took place at The Dominick hotel in New York’s SoHo neighborhood earlier this week.

According to TMZ, a loaded Glock 23 was discovered by a Dominick hotel employee who alerted local authorities. Police executed a search warrant of the room and found the weapon before arresting the “Pop Out” rapper. Polo G was allegedly carrying about $23,000 in cash at the time of the arrest.

This is far from Polo’s first run-in with the law. The rapper was arrested in August 2023 after police raided his California home and found “numerous firearms” there. The raid followed Polo G’s brother, Taurean Bartlett (a.k.a. Trench Baby), being identified as a suspect in a California robbery. According to the LAPD, when the alleged victim arrived at Taurean’s house to film a music video, the rapper pulled out a “handgun and demanded that the victim transfer money to an unknown account.”

LAPD Detectives subsequently obtained an arrest warrant for Taurean and discovered that he was living with Polo G. When the firearms were discovered at the residence, police arrested both brothers. In that incident, Polo G was booked for possession of a rifle at Van Nuys Jail.

Polo G has been working toward the release of his anticipated fourth album. His third LP, Hall of Fame, arrived in 2021 and notched him his first Billboard 200 No. 1 with 143,000 equivalent album units earned in the first week.

Billboard has reached out to Polo G’s reps for comment.