ROGERS PARK — One prominent North Side rapper was released from jail and another was locked up last week — after allegedly swallowing a rock of crack during a traffic stop.
Keith Hayer, aka Bang Da Hitta, was arrested during the traffic stop Feb. 9 and charged with a felony count of resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.
Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil ordered Hayer held on $30,000 bail on Feb. 10, records show.
The next day, meanwhile, fellow rapper Young Pappy, born Shaquon Thomas, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct and was released from jail after 29 days of time served.
"Im Back," Thomas tweeted Sunday.
Ben Woodard discusses the legal issues facing many neighborhood rappers:
The duo performed in a music video together that has garnered thousands of views on YouTube after it was released last month.
Police have publicly said both Hayer and Thomas are known and admitted members of a Rogers Park faction of the Gangster Disciples. Hayer's car was set ablaze in September — and police have said Thomas was the target of at least two shootings in the neighborhood that led to the deaths of bystander Wil Lewis and teenager Markeyo Carr.
Hayer, 23, was also locked up and charged in March for selling pot near a park.
Last week, on Feb. 9, Hayer was a passenger in a car driving about 4:30 p.m. in the 6700 block of North Bosworth Avenue when police pulled it over for failing to signal before making a turn, according to a police report.
Upon approaching the car, one of the officers noticed a small, clear plastic bag — "that narcotics would be packaged in" — on Hayer's leg, the report said.
The officers then ordered Hayer and the driver out of the car and discovered a powdery white substance in the bag, the report said.
One of the officers asked Hayer whether he was concealing anything in his mouth. When Hayer opened his mouth, the officer "observed a white object" suspected to be crack cocaine, according to the report.
Hayer then allegedly swallowed the object, the report said, and began resisting arrest by stiffening his body and pulling his arms toward the center of his body.
"You ain't gonna find what your looking for, it's gone, I swallowed it," Hayer said, according to the report.
While gaining control of Hayer, an officer struck his hand on the patrol car, causing "swelling and redness," the report said.
Police then took Hayer to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston "for his own safety for the ingestion of narcotics, where he denied any medical attention," the report said.
The driver was cited for failing to signal before making a turn, according to the report.
Hayer's next court date is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. March 3.
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