Rapper Pooh Shiesty kidnapped and robbed fellow rapper and mentor Gucci Mane in a music studio ambush, federal prosecutors say.
The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that Memphis rappers Pooh Shiesty and Big30 planned and executed the “coordinated armed takeover” at a Dallas music studio in January.
According to prosecutors, eight of nine suspects in the incident, including Pooh Shiesty, born Lontrell Williams. Jr., and his father, Lontrell Williams Sr., who’s known around the Memphis music scene as “Mob Boss,” were arrested Wednesday in Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., and Dallas.
Williams Jr. allegedly arranged a “business meeting” with Gucci Mane to discuss the terms of his recording contract. Things took a turn and, according to the Justice Department, Williams Jr. brandished an AK-style pistol and forced one of the victims to sign a release from the recording contract at gunpoint.
Big30, born Rodney Wright Jr., allegedly barricaded the studio door with his body to prevent Gucci Mane and the other victims from escaping.
The other men involved in the ambush also pulled out firearms and robbed the other victims of Rolex watches, jewelry, cash and other high-value items, according to a federal complaint, which also states that one victim was choked nearly to unconsciousness.
In 2020, Gucci Mane, born Radric Davis, signed newcomer Williams Jr. to his record label 1017 Records. Davis came across the “Breaking News” rapper after several of his singles started to gain traction on social media. The rapper’s 2021 breakout hit, “Back in Blood,” climbed the Billboard charts, and Williams Jr. went multiplatinum.
The same year, the rapper received a five-year prison sentence on firearms conspiracy charges out of the Southern District of Florida. In October, Williams Jr. was released early after serving three years on the condition that he would serve home detention.
The “Federal Contraband” hitmaker was still on house arrest in January when the alleged music studio takeover took place. According to the complaint, evidence used to charge the men included electronic monitoring data that placed Williams Jr. at the Dallas studio, which also violates the terms of his home detention conditions.
Other evidence included phone records, records confirming that Williams Sr. rented a car used by the men, surveillance video from the studio, fingerprints recovered from the crime scene matching those of two defendants, records placing some of the men at a nearby hotel after the robbery, and social media posts that pictured some of the charged men with what appeared to be stolen watches and jewelry, prosecutors said.
“These defendants will be transported to the Northern District of Texas to face their crimes,” said D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
Williams Jr.’s legal representation did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
If convicted, each defendant faces a sentence of up to life in prison.
