Grime artist Wiley is being hunted for by police after failing to appear at court accused of assaulting an ex-world champion kickboxer and breaking into his flat.
The rapper, whose real name is Richard Cowie Jr, didn’t show up to Snaresbrook Crown Court, east London, on November 11 last year.
And yesterday police issued a fresh appeal to find him.
The 42-year-old is accused of breaking into the home of friend and kickboxer Ali Jacko in Forest Gate, east London, on August 28, and smashing plates before assaulting the boxer.
The rapper’s November no-show came after he failed to appear at a hearing Thames Magistrates’ Court on September 27.
After that he released a video online, seen by The Sun, in which the rapper, who was awarded an MBE in 2018 for services to music, said: ‘The police, listen, me to you.
‘Don’t come and get me, don’t look for me. I’ll go down there. I’m going to have a drink, then I’ll go down there.’
Now Newham Police has tweeted an appeal asking the public if they have spotted him anywhere, noting that he frequents the Tower Hamlets area of east London.
The rapper, from Poplar, east London, faces charges of assault by beating and burglary of a dwelling with intent to cause damage.
In a video posted on April 18, the camera pans across some speakers and a recording mic before he is heard saying: ‘There’s never no excuse, no excuses trust me. Wherever you are bruv, get it done.
‘Send me some work if you’ve got anything for me to do.’
The account has been active since December last year and in one video posted on December 9, less than one month after he failed to appear in court, Wiley is seen talking over music and saying: ‘Don’t hide, come outside.’
The account also posted a screenshot of a tweet which reads: ‘Omicron was the name of a 1999 video game by Microsoft (Bill Gates) about demons pretending to be humans and harvesting their souls… I’ll just leave that right there…’
The Metropolitan Police charged Wiley, who is understood to have used Mr Jacko’s recording studio before the pandemic, following the incident on August 28.
Cowie represented himself at an earlier hearing and was granted an adjournment under conditional bail for two weeks so he could find legal aid but has not shown up to court since.