Rapper Juelz Santana will remain in jail on weapons charges

NEWARK — Rapper Juelz Santana will likely remain in jail for the next two weeks, after he turned himself in to Port Authority police early Monday on charges he brought a loaded gun to Newark Liberty International Airport.

The Totowa resident, whose birth name is LaRon James, allegedly fled the airport Friday after the gun was found in his carry-on luggage. He is facing weapons charges as well as an unspecified warrant.

Santana's attorney, Brian Neary, was not present during an appearance in federal court Monday, and a bail application was not submitted by Neary or Santana's court-appointed attorney.

When reached by phone Monday night, Neary told The Record, "We're going to put together information as fast as possible to ask the court to release him, and then we’ll be able to review and defend the case."

Santana entered the federal courtroom wearing a black, long-sleeved T-shirt, sweats, and blue Air Jordan sneakers, with handcuffs on his wrist and ankles. A woman blew kisses toward Santana as he sat to await Judge Joseph Dickson. She declined to speak with reporters after his court appearance.

Santana's next court date is scheduled for March 26. He will likely be held in jail until then unless Neary is able to get him released sooner. If convicted, Santana could face up to a decade in prison.

On Friday, Santana, 36, arrived at Newark Airport just after 6 p.m. for a 6:25 p.m. flight to San Francisco, authorities said. He then "paced the area nervously and requested that several individuals screen his bag, because he was going to miss his flight."

During an X-ray screening of his bag, "a Transportation Security Administration agent identified a suspected firearm," according to court documents. Santana then "retreated from the security checkpoint area without his belongings," the documents say.

Santana left behind a .38-caliber handgun, a New York State driver's license and two bags, according to court documents.

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The Harlem native had been scheduled to perform Saturday night at The Grand Nightclub in San Francisco, according to an advertisement for the performance. The performance was canceled by the host of the event.

Totowa police visited Santana's home Friday night after the incident, but he was not home. Santana previously lived in Teaneck.

The incident Friday was not the "There It Go" performer's first brush with law enforcement.

In August 2009, the Diplomats rap group member was arrested in Teaneck on charges he threatened his girlfriend with a knife, The Record previously reported.

In February 2011, he was charged with multiple weapons and drug offenses, including possession of a weapon without a permit, after authorities executed a search warrant at his Bergenfield recording studio.

At the time of that incident, authorities found two loaded 9mm handguns, an unspecified amount of ammunition and 17 plastic bags containing suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to an article in The Record. Authorities said they believed Santana was a member of the Bloods street gang, and that he and several associates were selling drugs from the studio for some time. That arrest culminated a 10-month investigation into gang activity.

Santana pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree marijuana distribution charge as a result of the February 2011 arrest, according to court records. He also pleaded guilty to two other offenses stemming from separate 2011 incidents. He pleaded guilty to third-degree making a terroristic threat to commit a crime of violence after an incident during which he also was charged with violating a restraining order.

In another incident, Santana pleaded guilty to fourth-degree obstruction of the administration of law.

Authorities said carrying a handgun to a federal checkpoint carries a penalty of up to $13,000.

New Jersey law bars those convicted of a crime from having weapons.

Email: ortizk@northjersey.com, kanzler@northjersey.com