A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday ordered rapper Pooh Shiesty to remain in custody on kidnapping charges after allegedly pulling a gun during a contract dispute linked to rapper Gucci Mane’s record label.
Pooh Shiesty, legally Lontrell Williams Jr., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver in Dallas. Prosecutors have also charged eight others in connection with the alleged January incident at a music studio, where the victims were reportedly robbed at gunpoint.
The victims have not been named by prosecutors, and an FBI affidavit attached to the criminal complaint refers to them only by their initials. One victim, R.D., is identified as the owner of 1017 Records, Gucci Mane’s label.
“I find that the weight of the evidence against you is strong,” Toliver told Pooh Shiesty during the hearing.
She noted that the rapper had a criminal history and had violated a home confinement order following a prior firearms conspiracy conviction in Florida.
During the hearing, Bradford Cohen, the rapper’s attorney, raised questions about much of the prosecution’s evidence. “The FBI doesn’t take three months to arrest someone if they believe everything that was said the night that it occurred,” Cohen said.
Prosecutors have accused the rapper, who was arrested last week, of arranging the music studio meeting in Dallas to discuss the terms of his contract with 1017 Records.
According to an affidavit attached to a criminal complaint, Pooh Shiesty had asked to speak with the record label owner privately in a recording room. He then allegedly produced contract termination paperwork and pulled out what appeared to be an AK-style pistol while forcing the label owner to sign.
The rapper then took the man’s wedding ring, watch, earrings and cash, according to the affidavit.
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Pooh Shiesty is from Memphis, Tennessee, but he is believed to have been recently living in a high-rise apartment in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, according to the affidavit. Several of the defendants traveled from Memphis to Dallas ahead of the meeting, according to the affidavit.
Gucci Mane is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta rappers T.I. and Jeezy. He emerged in the mid-2000s with his breakout single “Icy” and went on to build a vast catalog.