Deputies investigating an armed robbery in West Hollywood Tuesday briefly questioned rapper Wyclef Jean but released him after determining he was not one of the suspects being sought.
The incident occurred about 1:30 a.m., the sheriff’s department reported.
According to TMZ.com, Jean and two female passengers — one of them his manager — were pulled over because the rapper’s vehicle matched the description of a car used in an armed robbery around the same time in the same neighborhood, and he was wearing a red bandanna, which was part of the description of one of the suspects.
“As for how he ended up in handcuffs — we’re told one of the women got out of the vehicle abruptly, and while talking to deputies, Wyclef reached toward his waistband,” TMZ reported. “Deputies put on the cuffs for about six minutes while they sorted this out.”
One of Jean’s passengers shot video of him criticizing the Los Angeles Police Department, although he was detained by the sheriff’s department.
“LAPD another case of mistaken identity,” Jean wrote on Twitter. “Black man with red bandana robbed a gas station as I was in the studio working but im in handcuffs?”
A short time after Jean was detained, two suspects were arrested in connection with the armed robbery, ABC7 reported. Their names were not immediately released.
