Juelz Santana still missing Sunday night after gun allegedly found in carry-on

North Jersey rapper Juelz Santana, who police say fled after a loaded gun was found in his bag at a Newark Liberty International Airport checkpoint Friday, was still missing Sunday evening, authorities said.

Bill Maer, a spokesman for the Passaic County Sheriff's Department, said Sunday that officers were made aware of the fugitive situation and were on the lookout for Santana. Should they apprehend him, they will send him to the appropriate law enforcement agency, Maer said.

A source familiar with the investigation, meanwhile, said Sunday that Santana has had a representative contact authorities to discuss surrendering.

It was not clear Sunday when — or if — he would do so. Port Authority police spokesman Joe Pentangelo said there had been "no developments" and no arrests made in connection with the incident.

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Police have been searching for Santana since Friday night, when he allegedly eluded security agents after a gun was found in his bag and left the airport by hopping into a taxicab.

In an email, the Transportation Security Administration said one of its officers "froze the bag safely inside the X-Ray tunnel" after spotting the gun during routine screening.

"Upon our discovery of the firearm, the individual left the checkpoint and went back into the public area," leaving the carry-on bag containing the gun at the checkpoint, the TSA said in the email.

The Port Authority issued a statement saying that "a passenger walked out the exit of the C-1 security checkpoint at Newark Airport" on Friday night, leaving behind two bags. They said authorities recovered a loaded Derringer .38-caliber handgun and that the suspect "is believed to have left Newark Airport by taxicab."

Both the TSA and the Port Authority declined to confirm that Santana was the suspect involved in the airport incident. But police in Totowa confirmed Saturday that they had been to the rapper's home at 11 p.m. Friday regarding the airport incident.

Capt. Carl Cifaldi said no one was home when police arrived.

New Jersey law bars convicted felons from having weapons — and Santana has three such convictions, according to state court records. Transportation authorities said that carrying a handgun to a federal checkpoint carries a civil penalty and fine of up to $13,000.

Santana, whose given name is LaRon Louis James, was convicted of three indictable offenses stemming from three separate incidents in 2011, state court records show.

Seven years ago, Santana was the target of a gang investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and other law enforcement agencies. He was charged in February 2011 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.

Police found two loaded 9mm handguns, an unspecified amount of ammunition, and 17 plastic bags containing suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia, an article in The Record said.

At the time, authorities said they believed Santana was a member of the Bloods street gang, and that he and associates had been distributing drugs from the studio for some time. The arrest culminated a 10-month investigation, they said.

Santana pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree marijuana distribution charge as a result of that arrest,court records show.

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 was also charged with violating a restraining order. In another incident, he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree obstruction of the administration of law.

He was sentenced to two years of probation for each of those offenses in 2013.

Santana was scheduled to perform Saturday night at The Grand Nightclub in San Francisco, according to an advertisement for the performance. The performance was canceled but a related birthday celebration was set to go on as planned, according to the host of the event.

The host, who would provide only his first name, Mark, said the celebration was for "a friend." He added that he found out about the airport incident from friends sending him text messages on Friday night.

"It's 2018 — I don't know how he thought that would be OK," Mark said of allegations that Santana went through a security checkpoint with a gun.

Law enforcement authorities did not immediately specify where Santana was going.

Santana, a founding member of the rap group The Diplomats, has been living since last year on Totowa's Hamilton Trail, a street lined with stately, three-story homes, according to neighbors.

Residents said he is a good neighbor who lives quietly with his wife and children. One said the area was abuzz when Santana's wife announced on a TV show that the family was moving to the neighborhood, and that a production crew showed up this past summer to make a music video at the star's home.

No one answered the door at Santana's home late Saturday afternoon. Several other residents declined to comment or said they didn't know anything about the rapper.

Staff Writers Jai Agnish, Sarah Nolan and Candace Mitchell contributed to this article.

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