Kodak Black is arrested in Florida on New Year’s Day for trespassing… after probation violation

Kodak Black was arrested on Saturday in Pompano Beach, Florida, for allegedly trespassing, law enforcement authorities have revealed.

The rapper — who has had several recent run-ins with the law — was taken into custody around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

However, the 24-year-old musician’s lawyer downplayed the severity of the arrest, which would amount to a misdemeanor, while speaking to TMZ later in the day.

Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies announced that officers ‘made contact with Bill Kapri [Black’s real name]’ in Golden Acres, a neighborhood in Pompano Beach where he was raised.

The charge appears to be only a misdemeanor, and the rapper was set free after paying a $25 bond.

Deputies didn’t initially explain why Black was apprehended in the first place, but his lawyer Bradford Cohen claimed to TMZ the arrest was related to a four-month-old cease and desist letter.

According to Cohen, Black was in the area to spend time with friends, but he also planned to visit five families in the area to pay off their credit card debt.

While he was in the area, police reportedly arrested the musician and told him he was violating a cease and desist letter sent by the area’s Housing Authority.

The conflict between Black and the Housing Authority appears to go back to July, when he delivered and installed air conditioning units to a housing project in Pompano Beach.

In September, the Pompano Beach Authority sent him the cease and desist letter for delivering the air conditions and for shooting a music video and playing loud music on the property.

But at the time, Black’s lawyer said he hadn’t filmed a music video, and there had only been music playing at a reasonable volume.

He also blasted the Housing Authority for opposing the air conditioner delivery.

In a more conciliatory follow-up statement, a representative for the Housing Authority called the donation ‘extremely generous and admirable gesture,’ though they said the main concern was over the air conditioners being installed in accordance with safety guidelines.

They also claimed that all residents in the project already had air conditioners.

Cohen claims that Black shouldn’t have been arrested, as he says that his client wasn’t properly served the cease and desist letter.

According to him, the letter was sent to Black’s record label when it should have been given to him personally.

He also alleged that the letter referred to Black’s conduct during his air conditioner donation and didn’t say he wasn’t allowed to be in the area, therefore it should not have been used as an excuse to arrest him.

So far, it’s unclear if Black’s brush with the law could have consequences for his ongoing probation.

His latest run-in with the law comes after Black’s lawyer said he was ‘clean and sober’ after completing a 90-day court-ordered stay at a treatment facility earlier in December.

The musician had left rehab and was ‘prepping to get back on the road’ to pick up his career once again after failing a drug test months ago, a violation of his probation terms from his federal gun case.

Black’s lawyer, Bradford Cohen, told TMZ that a judge was ‘happy’ with Kodak’s progress thus far and he’s taking his newfound sobriety ‘seriously.’

Cohen told the outlet that Black is ‘looking forward to making good music, and is going to try to stay away from people, places and things that would put him in harm’s way, or trigger him to use again.’

The rapper has interest in performing overseas, but is ‘weighing his options’ on where he’ll play next.

Kodak — who was born Dieuson Octave before changing his name to Bill Kahan Kapri — was granted permission to perform at the Rolling Loud New York music festival in October under supervised release.

Black violated the terms of his supervised release in his federal gun case earlier this year when he tested positive for marijuana and MDMA in two separate tests this past year.

The Wake Up in the Sky singer reportedly tested positive for marijuana in February and then for MDMA in August.

He was then ordered by a judge to complete a 90-day treatment program, and was recently granted permission to complete the final 30 days of his treatment at a facility in Florida, where doctors believe he will have a higher rate of success.

Black was originally sentenced to 46 months in prison in 2019 after being convicted of making a false statement in order to buy a firearm, but was released halfway into his sentence after receiving a pardon from Trump on his last day in office.

Kodak revealed in September that he’s set to become a father once again as his girlfriend, Maranda Johnson, is pregnant with their first child, a daughter.

This will be Black’s second child, as he already has a six-year-old son, King, from a previous relationship.