NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has learned that Sandy Springs police have issued an arrest warrant for Migos rapper Offset on a felony charge.
Channel 2 North Fulton County Bureau Chief Mike Petchenik was the first to report news of the arrest warrant for the rapper.
Video that has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times shows what appears to be the rapper, whose real name is Kiari Cephus, smacking a cellphone out of the hands of a fan.
Petchenik learned the altercation happened last Monday at a Target store in Sandy Springs.
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On Thursday, Petchenik talked with the high school senior, Junior Gibbons, who recorded the video.
"When he put his hands up, I thought he was going to throw up gang signs or something. But he ended up just smacking my phone down," Gibbons said. "He said, 'Get that (expletive) phone out of my face. Then he just walked out."
Gibbons said the entire incident caught him off guard.
"He hit it pretty hard and it fell on the floor and it shattered the screen," Gibbons said.
Gibbons said he's a fan of Offset, but agrees he should be charged with a felony.
"If you smack someone's phone and it's $800, it's got to be a felony charge," Gibbons said.
Gibbons also said he thinks the famous rapper should replace his cellphone.
"He really didn't have to smack my phone like that," Gibbons said. "I don't think he should go to jail or anything. I'd rather him buy me a new phone to be honest."
WATCH RAW VIDEO of our interview with Gibbons below:
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This is not the Grammy-nominated rapper’s first run-in with law enforcement officers.
Most recently, Cephus was arrested in Clayton County on weapon and drug charges in July 2018.
Cephus, and his bodyguard, Senay Gezahgn, were traveling in Jonesboro when the 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera that Offset was driving was pulled over on suspicion of an improper lane change on Upper Riverdale Road.
Officers said that during a search, they found three handguns, less than 1 ounce of marijuana and more than $107,000 in cash.
Offset was charged with improper lane change; possession of marijuana, less than 1 ounce; possession of a weapon by a convicted felon; and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
Gezahgn was charged with possession of marijuana, less than 1 ounce, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
Cephus was released from jail the next day after posting bond.
He also spent nearly eight months in the Bulloch County Jail in 2014.
Offset sat down exclusively with Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne after his release to discuss his time behind bars and how it affected him.
Migos played a concert at Georgia Southern University in April. During the show, police searched two vehicles that had carried the band and 13 members of its entourage. The search turned up less than an ounce of marijuana, a bottle of a street concoction containing codeine called "lean" and several guns, according to police.
Police arrested all 16 people.
Cephus faced nine counts: violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, carrying weapons within certain school areas, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, possession of a firearm by convicted felon, two counts of violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act, riot in a penal institution and battery.
[WATCH: Migos rapper Offset talks about being banned from Statesboro]
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