American rapper Snoop Dogg’s petition to seal his 1993 murder charge has been granted, 28 years after his acquittal for the shooting of a gang member.
Snoop Dogg, now 52, and his bodyguard, McKinley Lee, were accused of the shooting and murder of Philip Woldemariam, a gang member, in Los Angeles in August 1993. The two later went on trial in 1996, facing first and second-degree murder charges. The highly publicized case came just after the release of Snoop Dogg’s first album, and despite being entangled in the legal battle, the rapper, known for hits like Drop It Like It’s Hot, continued to achieve mainstream success after being cleared.
The legal documents obtained by TMZ confirmed that Snoop Dogg, real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., filed a petition in January 2024 to have the 1993 murder charge sealed, with the court approving the request in late February. Sealing Snoop Dogg’s 1993 murder charge means the record will no longer be accessible to the public and will not appear in background checks for employment, housing, or education. The rapper had been charged as an accessory to the shooting, with prosecutors alleging that he had driven the car from which the fatal shots were fired by his bodyguard.
Despite the controversy surrounding the case, Snoop Dogg was allowed to tour Britain at the time, sparking tabloid outrage with headlines such as “Kick this evil b*****d out.”
Snoop Dogg claimed that the late Queen of England personally intervened to prevent him from being banned from the UK. In 1996, during the trial, Snoop Dogg, then 24, appeared shocked and clasped his hands in prayer when he and his bodyguard were acquitted. Jurors also cleared both men of conspiracy to commit assault in connection with Woldemariam’s death. Following his acquittal, Snoop Dogg told the LA Times,
“They made the right decision, you know what I’m saying?
This has been an ordeal that has affected our lives for the past 2 1/2 years. I was just trying to figure out if I was going to be here to raise my son.”
Snoop Dogg, a father of four, shares three children—Cordé, 29, Cordell, 27, and Cori, 25—with his wife of 27 years, Shante Broadus, and a son, Julian, 26, from a previous relationship with Laurie Holmond.