Singer Akon was arrested last week in the metro Atlanta suburb of Chamblee after police spotted his Tesla Cybertruck and tied it to an active warrant.
Why did the police arrest Akon?
The five-time Grammy Award nominee, whose real name is Aliaune Badara Thiam, was taken into custody by the Chamblee Police Department on Friday, booked into the DeKalb County Jail just after 12:30 p.m., and released hours later, according to CBS News.
According to an incident report, officers responded to Tint World on Chamblee Dunwoody Road around 11 a.m. after Flock cameras alerted them to a white 2024 Tesla Cybertruck wanted by the Roswell Police Department. When officers arrived, they confirmed that the man standing near the vehicle was Thiam based on his driver’s license photo.
An officer then approached the 52-year-old and told him there was an active warrant for his arrest. The Senegalese-born singer said he was aware of the warrant and complied with the officers as he was placed in handcuffs. During the Cybertruck search, police found no weapons or contraband and transported Thiam to the DeKalb County Jail.
What was the active warrant based on?
He was later transported to the Smyrna City Jail, where he was booked on a failure-to-appear charge for a suspended license. According to the Roswell Police Department, the active warrant stems from a Sept. 10 incident involving Thiam after officers found him stranded in his white Cybertruck on Holcomb Bridge Road, Fox 5 reported.
According to the police report, Thiam’s driver’s license was suspended for failure to appear, and his vehicle was impounded. There are no other pending charges against Thiam at this time.
He is currently on tour in India and performed in Delhi on Sunday, just two days after his arrest, ABC News reported.