NEW YORK, United States — Dancehall artiste Rygin King was arrested in New York on Monday. The artiste, now confined to a wheelchair, was slapped with a raft of weapons possession charges alongside five other men.

Checks with the Deputy Commissioner Public Information (DCPI) office of the 113th Precinct in New York confirmed that the ‘Tuff’ singer was arrested at 4:30 am on Sunday, July 8.

The entertainer, given name Matthew Smith, was observed in the front passenger seat of a vehicle when it was stopped. Smith was allegedly found to be in possession of a loaded Palmetto State Armory 9mm firearm. He was subsequently arrested and charged.

Smith’s charges include five counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree for a loaded firearm, one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree for an ammo clip, and seven counts for a firearms/ammunition feeding device and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

“The driver of the vehicle was also reportedly hit with additional charges of a vehicle and license violation, false impersonation, and an illegal signal,” the officer in the DCPI unit told Observer Online.

According to New York State court records, Rygin King was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charges. An addendum on the docket notes that “the appearance of section 110 in front of the charge indicates it is an attempt to commit the crime.”

The 29-year-old artiste is scheduled to appear in the Queens Supreme Criminal Court on Friday, July 12. Rygin King is being represented by court-appointed attorney Marc B. Laykind. Calls to Laykind’s cell phone were not immediately returned.

Rygin King shot to prominence with the single ‘Tuff’ and cemented his status with a performance at Reggae Sumfest 2018. However, his musical success has been overshadowed by controversy in recent years as he was chased and shot three times by unknown gunmen in Westmoreland in 2020.

During the incident, his manager’s wife was shot and killed. The shooting incident damaged Rygin King’s spinal cord.

-Claude Mills