Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty
A Florida judge has sentenced rapper Pooh Shiesty to five years and three months behind bars for his role in an October 2020 shooting outside of a Florida hotel.
U.S. District Judge Kevin Michael Moore of the Southern District Court of Florida handed down the sentence to the 22-year-old rapper –– born Lontrell Williams –– Wednesday.
In January, the “Back In Blood” rapper plead guilty to a single charge of conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence and drug trafficking which had a maximum of eight years and one month in prison. He had been facing three more charges –– life felonies.
Pooh Shiesty’s lawyer Bradford Cohen tells PEOPLE the rapper and his team are pleased that the judge listened to their arguments and opted not to sentence the rapper to the maximum.
“The federal sentencing guidelines placed him at a high end of 107 months, the government agreed to not seek more than 97 months. [and] we argued that the guidelines weren’t appropriately applied and requested 63 months,” he tells PEOPLE. “The judge agreed after a 2-hour hearing in the matter.”
“We are pleased that he took all the evidence and argument into consideration and look forward to Lontrell having a successful career in the future.”
Cohen toldRolling Stonethat the Memphis native is “happy” with the sentence considering he was facing more time.
“Listen, nobody’s happy to go to prison, but he was happy the judge listened to our argument, and the judge received the argument well. He was satisfied with the outcome,” said according to the publication, adding, “We’re happy with the decision of the court.”
The rapper was also given time served after being in jail for a year. It’s possible he’ll be released in three and a half years on good behavior, the outlet said.
While he only plead guilty to a single charge, as part of his plea deal, he admitted to participating in three violent incidents.
RELATED VIDEO: Travis Scott Launches New Philanthropy Effort, Including Event Safety Task Force, 4 Months After Astroworld
In the first shooting, the rapper was sitting in a car when someone else in the vehicle opened fire at a gas station, the attorney’s office. The second incident was the October 2020 incident that Pooh Shiesty was sentenced for on Wednesday.
Rolling Stone also reported that one man was shot in the buttocks in the crossfire. His lawyer argued it was not a robbery as the rapper had no need to rob the drug dealer as the rapper had the money on him –– he dropped a Louis Vuitton bag with almost $41,000 in it at the scene –– and was driving a McLaren.
The third case involved Pooh Shiesty assaulting a security guard with a firearm at a Miami strip club, the DOJ said.
Pooh Shiesty’s popularity grew after working with well-known rappers likeGucci Mane. His debut commercial mixtapeShiesty Seasonand his recent track “Back In Blood” featuring Lil Durk peaked at number 13 on theBillboardHot 100. In April last year, he performed the hit onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
source: people.com
