Rygin King Lands In ICE Custody As New York Gun Case Drags On
Dancehall artist Rygin King, whose real name is Matthew Smith, has been taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to ICE’s online detainee records.
The Tuff deejay was reportedly detained on Monday, March 23. No official reason for the detention had been made public, and neither King nor his representatives has issued a statement.
The ICE detention comes while Rygin King’s New York gun case remains unresolved.
In 2024, the artist, his wife Ileene Parker-Smith, and four others were arrested in Queens after police said a loaded firearm was found during a traffic stop involving a Ford Explorer.
King pleaded not guilty to six charges, including the most serious charge of ‘criminal possession of a loaded firearm in the second degree,’ which can carry a maximum of 15 years for a first-time offender.
According to court records seen by DancehallMag, the matter has been tied up in adjournments and suppression hearings for months. On February 27, 2026, the suppression hearing was continued and a decision reserved, with prosecutors also filing a certificate of readiness and a certificate of supplemental compliance.
His next court date is listed as March 27, 2026, in Queens Supreme Criminal Court before Justice Mary L. Bejarano.
Marc B. Laykind, the attorney representing King in the New York case, previously told DancehallMag that he was confident the matter would ultimately be thrown out.
Rygin King has been living with major physical challenges since a 2020 shooting in Westmoreland, Jamaica, in which his manager’s wife, Sashalee Blackwood, was killed and the deejay was shot three times.
He later moved to the United States for orthopedic consultations and rehabilitation. His two albums, Therapy and Recovery, drew heavily from that period.
He is not the only Jamaican dancehall act recently held by ICE.
Hillside artist Chronic Law has been held at the Florida immigration detention facility known as ‘Aligator Alcatraz’ since January.
Big Breeze artist Squash was also briefly held by ICE last year. He later pleaded guilty to gun possession charges in Florida and was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison.