Grammy-nominated and top-selling rapper Young Jeezy was one of six people arrested Sunday in Irvine on suspicion of possessing an assault rifle during the investigation into a deadly shooting backstage at a concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre over the weekend, authorities said.
The 36-year-old Jeezy, whose real name is Jay Wayne Jenkins, was arrested by Mountain View police detectives at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Irvine, which was the next stop for the “Under the Influence of Music” national concert tour, of which he was part of a bill headlined by Wiz Khalifa, according to the Mountain View Police Department.
Also arrested were five people who police said were working for the tour: Alexa Beason, 52; William Paul Gilmore, 48; David Kuniansky-Altman, 31; Kena Jermaine Marshall, 39; and Peter Arthur Maynard, 38. All were arrested on suspicion of possessing an assault weapon.
As of Monday afternoon, Jenkins was being held at Orange County Central Jail on $1 million bail, as was Maynard, described in jail records as a manager, and Marshall. Gilmore, described as a driver, was being held on $20,000 bail. Custody information for Beason and Kuniansky-Altman was not available.
None of the arrested have been identified as suspects in shooting, which was reported just after 11 p.m. — as the concert was letting out — and claimed the life of 38-year-old Orinda resident Eric Johnson, who police said was an entertainment promoter but not connected to Jenkins’ tour. It was not clear if Johnson was with anyone when he was shot.
Mountain View police Sgt. Saul Jaeger, a department spokesman, said detectives traveled to Irvine as part of the homicide investigation and, with the help of local police, served search warrants that turned up illegal firearms linked to the six people arrested.
“We haven’t made any arrests for the homicide. These arrests were made during the execution of the warrant,” Jaeger said.
After the shooting, headliner Wiz Khalifa tweeted condolences to Johnson’s family and wrote “violence is never the answer,” and concert promoter Live Nation cancelled the tour’s Saturday stop in Chula Vista, near San Diego, with no plans to reschedule, citing the homicide investigation.
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