The story of Juice WRLD’s recent death may now have a tragic new wrinkle. The Chicago Tribune reports that the 21-year-old rapper’s collapse actually took place during the search of his luggage at Midway Airport as federal agents looked for guns and drugs. While previous reports said that the FBI turned up 70 pounds of weed, the new report says that the bags contained “41 ‘vacuum-sealed’ bags of marijuana, six bottles of prescription codeine cough syrup, two 9 mm pistols, a .40-caliber pistol, a high-capacity ammunition magazine, and metal-piercing bullets.”
While it wasn’t revealed why the agents were waiting on Juice’s plane from California, Chicago police said they were notified that it was suspected of carrying “weapons and narcotics.” A drug-sniffing dog alerted the agents, who discovered the marijuana and codeine. Two of the guns apparently belonged to Henry Dean, who also claimed the magazine, telling the police that he was working security for Juice WRLD, while the .40 was found in a case that belonged to Christopher Long, who denied ownership.
During the search, Juice began having seizures and collapsed, prompting police to ask his girlfriend if he had ingested any drugs or had medical issues. She told them he “takes Percocet and has a drug problem,” and they summoned an ambulance while they administered Narcan, a drug designed to treat overdose in an emergency situation. Although Juice regained consciousness, he was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn a little after 3 AM. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.
The two bodyguards were charged with separate misdemeanors — Long with unlawful possession of a firearm, Dean with carrying a concealed firearm at an airport and possessing a high-capacity magazine and metal-piercing bullets. Dean was licensed to carry a gun in Illinois but it is illegal to carry in an airport. The state’s attorney rejected felony charges.
In the wake of Juice’s death, fan outpourings of mourning have included posts of his lauded freestyle skills and peers leading singalongs as well as blame for rappers who “glorify drugs.”
