Oakland rapper Zoe Tha Roasta has reached a $300,000 settlement with the city of Oakland, California, after a police office planted a gun on him, resulting in jail time.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports, former Oakland police officer Ramon Alcantar planted a gun on Zoe as he was leaving a wake for his aunt in June of 2006.
The rapper claimed he was picked up by Alcantar, who put him in the back of his squad car and said “I found your gun.”
Zoe, born Lorenzo Hall, began yelling and publicly protesting but was still charged with numerous weapons offenses. He spent 18 months in jail, before the charges were dropped in 2008.
“This was an important case for holding the police officers accountable for their misconduct,” Zoe’s attorney John Burris told The Chronicle. “Because Mr. Hall has a criminal record, the officers claimed a weapon found in a car was his when the evidence was clear that the gun belonged to someone else.”
Zoe will receive $175,000 from the City of Oakland. The rest of the settlement will go to attorney fees.
The Oakland Police Department denies wrongdoing in the incident and maintains that Alcantar had the right to detain Hall due to information provided from the informant.
