Nine people, including rappers Pooh Shiesty (Lontrell Williams Jr.) and Big30 (Rodney Wright Jr.), have been charged in federal court with kidnapping and robbing music industry figures, including Atlanta-based rapper Gucci Mane, at a Dallas recording studio, the Department of Justice said Thursday, April 2.
Of the nine defendants, eight were arrested this week in Dallas and Memphis. Prosecutors claim the group carried out a violent ambush on January 10 after luring victims to Texas under the pretense of a business meeting.
According to the federal criminal complaint, the victims, including Gucci Mane, whose real name is Radric Davis, flew into Dallas that day for what they thought was a meeting to discuss a contract dispute involving Pooh Shiesty, whose real name is Lontrell Williams Jr.
Instead, authorities say nine suspects orchestrated an armed takeover inside the music studio. Investigators say the suspects gained entry to the studio around 3:43 p.m. that Saturday and separated the victims, with Shiesty leading Gucci Mane into a recording room while others were kept in a control room.
Shiesty allegedly brandished a handgun and forced Gucci Mane, described in the criminal complaint as the head of record label ‘1017 Records,’ to sign paperwork releasing him from his contract. Prosecutors say the other eight suspects produced firearms and robbed the other victims in the control room while Gucci Mane was signing papers at gunpoint.
Authorities say Rodney Wright Jr., known as Big30, helped block the studio exit while the others were being robbed. The victims believed they were about to be executed, according to the complaint, before being ordered to leave the building. The suspects fled the scene in multiple vehicles, according to the police.
Federal authorities say the attack was planned in advance. The complaint alleges Shiesty’s father helped arrange the meeting and even printed out contract documents at a Staples store hours before the robbery.
All nine defendants are charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. If convicted, each defendant could receive a life sentence.
Gucci Mane has said he will still appear for his previously scheduled performance at halftime of the Birmingham Stallions home opener against the Orlando Storm on Saturday, April 18, at 3:00 p.m. in Protective Stadium.
After the DOJ announcement Thursday, Gucci Mane went live on social media and addressed the situation directly, saying he will not cooperate with federal prosecutors in their case against Pooh Shiesty and the other defendants.