A little over two months after announcing he intended to take a plea deal in his federal robbery case, Pooh Shiesty pleaded guilty to one charge in a court hearing on Tuesday. As a result, the possibility of him receiving a life sentence is no longer on the table.
Per Rolling Stone, the charge was for conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of violent and drug-trafficking crimes. The magazine writes that Shiesty’s “about-face and conviction on Count 1...led prosecutors to ditch the other three counts in his updated indictment.”
The 22-year-old rapper’s plea also resulted in prosecutors agreeing to suggest no more than a 97-month prison sentence, or eight years and one month. RS notes the judge does not need to heed their recommendation. According to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Florida, Shiesty faces up to 20 years in prison.
Pooh Shiesty is still being held at Miami’s Federal Detention Center. A federal judge ordered that Shiesty—legal name Lontrell Williams—remain behind bars without bond as he awaits trial on robbery and firearms charges, which stem from an October 2020 incident in which the rapper and two associates allegedly shot and robbed two individuals from whom they were purchasing cannabis and high-end sneakers. He’s been locked up since a June 9 arrest for a different incident.
Defense lawyer Bradford Cohen told Rolling Stone in October of the rationale behind the plea deal, “We’ve entered into plea negotiations because there have been developments in the case that I think changed the dynamics of the case.”
In December, Shiesty took to Instagram share a note with fans, letting them know he’s “at my best right now” and “locked up but my mind still free.”
“Ima Be Back In A Minute,” he opened his caption. “Won’t Be To Long Til I’m Free. I Love All My Fans And The Ones Who Still Supporting Me. I Still Remain Untouched And Unfuckwitable … They Think It’s Ova Wit For Me That’s Okay, That’s Cool Tho This Just A Brief Message Afta These Few Words Im Back Silent. … Lotta Mf’s happy cause I’m put up right now, but Dets what you call p*ssies, I been knew all that love was fake that’s why I won’t let up at all.”
Read Shiesty’s full message above, in which he goes on to boast, “I RAN UP 10ms in 2 years off telling my life story and I got mo power den money but that’s some you can’t buy I’m the youngest in charge I done been threw mo sh*t den a 99 year old…n***a I’m locked up but my mind still free, ya cant lock that up, I been through worse situations, but I’m at my best right now.”
