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On Tuesday, Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty formally pleaded guilty to a firearms conspiracy chargein a federal court in Miami. As part of a plea agreement, the rapper — born Lontrell Williams Jr. — will no longer face a possible life sentence for allegedly shooting a man at a Florida hotel in 2020.
While his legal fate is not yet fully clear — he still has to be sentenced and remains in a Florida jail— here are five things to know about Pooh Shiesty and what’s next for one of the Bluff City’s biggest young hip-hop stars.
Who is Pooh Shiesty?
Raised around South Memphis' Cane Creek Apartments, the 22-year-old Pooh Shiesty is a second-generation Memphis rapper. His father founded the Bluff City label Mob Ties Records and rapped under the name Mob Boss. In January 2021, Williams released his debut mixtape "Shiesty Season," having been handpicked by rapper-mogul Gucci Mane to sign to his The New 1017 label. Shiesty saw his record hit the Billboard charts, selling the equivalent of 62,000 copies and placing at No. 4 in its first week of release. A month later the album recharted, hitting a new peak at No. 3. The album was one of the year’s big releases, finishing at No. 37 on the Billboard 200 for 2021.
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Why was Pooh Shiesty arrested in Florida?
Shiesty's legal troublebegan in October 2020, when, according to the FBI, he was involved in the robbery and shooting outside Landon Hotel in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida.
Per a Miami-Dade FBI criminal complaint, Shiesty and Bobby Brown — the other man charged in the incident — allegedly shot and injured two other men in a parking lot deal-gone-wrong, while attempting to purchase "high-end athletic sneakers" and marijuana from the men.
POOH SHIESTY:Pooh Shiesty pleads guilty to firearms conspiracy charge, avoids possible life sentence
Shiesty arrived in a McLaren he rented from one of the victims and wanted to negotiate the car's rental as well, but during the transaction, he and Brown shot the men — one in the hip and the other in the butt, according to the court documents. The FBI said surveillance footage captured the shooting and after law enforcement spoke with the victims they identified one of the suspectsas Shiesty.
While leaving the scene, a Louis Vuitton bag — which had $40,912 in cash — fell out of the McLaren and, according to the complaint, Shiesty had posted guns and $100 bills on Instagram days before the robbery.
Law enforcement utilized the rapper's social media account and found the same bills in the Louis Vuitton bag were also in his posts, the court document said.
Williams could have faced a possible maximum sentence of life in prison if he had been convicted of using a firearm "in furtherance of another federal crime of violence," the most serious of the charges against him in a four-count federal indictment.
He had initially pleaded not guilty and was days away from the start of a trial in October — when Williamschose to change his plea. Ultimately Williams would accept the conviction on the first count, conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of violent and drug-trafficking crimes. Prosecutors in turn dropped the other three counts in his updated indictment.
New details in the Pooh Shiesty case?
As part of the proffer in the case, Williams acknowledgedthe government could have proven that since January 2019 he had been part of a group that “conspired to use or carry firearms during and in relation to, and to possess firearms in furtherance of, drug trafficking crimes and activities.” And that Williams and his coconspirators used “social media platforms to discuss the distribution of marijuana, along with access to firearms and ammunition.”
The proffer goes on to cite other instances — in addition to the Bay Harbor Islands hotel incident — where Williams used or was party to the use of a firearm, including a shooting at an unspecified Memphis gas station in July 2020, and an assault at King of Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club in Miami-Dade County in May 2021.
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How much time will Pooh Shiesty serve?
During Tuesday’s proceedings Magistrate Judge Lauren Fleischer Louis accepted Williams' plea deal. However, the judge cautioned that the jointly recommended sentence of 97 months was not guaranteed. Although Williams’ plea deal will be looked upon favorably when considering his sentence, Chief Judge K. Michael Moore will be the one who determines the length of that sentence and ultimate fate. No date for that sentencing hearing has been set yet.
What's next for Pooh Shiesty's music career?
Behind bars since the summer of 2021, Williams hasn’t been able to do much to capitalize on the breakout success of “Shiesty Season” (though the case and its attendant coverage have upped his profile even further).
Over the past few months, he has turned up on releases from fellow Memphian Juicy J and labelmate Big Scarr. Just last week, however, Williams did release a new mixtape, “Federal Contraband,” a recording that featured him freestyling over the phone from jail. Still, until his sentence is determined and he’s released, Shiesty’s recording career will likely remain in limbo.