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Editor’s Note: This article has been revised with the most current information.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In a startling turn of events, Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty, alongside his father and seven others, faces serious allegations of kidnapping and robbing fellow rapper Gucci Mane and two additional victims at a Dallas music studio. This news was confirmed by Ryan Rabel, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and reported by TMZ on Thursday.
Attorney Rabel disclosed the identities of eight out of the nine accused individuals involved in the incident. Among those implicated is another Memphis rapper, Big30. The names of these suspects have been made public as part of the ongoing investigation.
- Lontrell Williams Jr., also known as Pooh Shiesty
- Lontrell Williams Sr.
- Rodney Wright Jr., also known as Big30
- Kadarius Waters
- Demarion Gibson
- DeMarcus Glover
- Corday Johnson
- Darian McDaniel
According to Jeremy Wright, FBI Dallas Assistant Special Agent, one suspect was apprehended in Frisco, Texas. Meanwhile, the remaining suspects were detained in Memphis, underscoring the multi-state scope of the law enforcement operation.
However, the ninth suspect, identified by Rabel as Terrence Rodgers, remains at large at the time of this report, with authorities continuing their search.
The victims’ names were not disclosed during the press conference. However, TMZ reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) said one of the victims kidnapped and robbed was rapper Gucci Mane.
According to Rabel, the complaint alleges that on Jan. 10, three music industry professionals traveled to Dallas, Texas, for a scheduled business meeting.
Williams Jr. arranged the meeting purportedly to discuss the terms of his recording contract with one of the victims, agents said.
As alleged, once the three men were inside the recording studio, Williams Jr. and eight co-conspirators, several of whom traveled from Memphis, Tennessee, executed a coordinated armed takeover, U.S. Attorney Rabel mentioned.
Williams Jr. allegedly produced an AK-style pistol and forced one of the victims to sign a release from the recording contract at gunpoint.
Rabel stated that the remaining armed suspects robbed the other victims of Rolex watches, jewelry, cash, and other high-value items.
One of the victims was choked by one of the defendants to the point of near unconsciousness, and Wright Jr. barricaded the studio door with his body, preventing the victims from escaping, authorities said.
Rabel said that the ringleader of the conspiracy, Williams Jr., was on home confinement at the time of the offense, for a prior firearms conspiracy charge and conviction out of the Southern District of Florida.
He said that towards the end of his prison sentence, Williams Jr. had been granted home detention.
Part of the terms of his home detention were that he would not commit another federal offense or possess a firearm, the U.S. attorney said. His father, Lontrell Williams Sr., is alleged to have assisted in planning and executing the kidnapping.
“And as described further in the complaint, within hours of leaving the Dallas studio, a number of the defendants were on social media displaying some of the items that appeared to be the jewelry that had been robbed from the victims,” said Rabel.
Electronic monitoring data placed Williams Jr. at the studio, which would put him in violation of his home detention conditions, the U.S. attorney explained.
Rabel said that cell phone records and license plate reader data corroborated the coordinated travel of multiple defendants from Memphis to Dallas.
Rental car records confirmed Williams Sr. rented a vehicle that was used by the group, Rabel added.
U.S. Attorney Rabel said surveillance footage was taken from the studio, a nearby office supply store, and a hotel where several of the defendants stayed, and fingerprint evidence was recovered from the crime scene after the incident, matching at least two of the defendants.
Social media posts by the suspects displayed what law enforcement said appeared to be stolen property just days after the incident.
Greyhound bus records also confirmed that the suspects traveled from Dallas to Memphis the day after the alleged crime.
“This case should serve as a warning to others who believe that using violence and intimidation tactics to rob others in our community is a viable way to conduct business,” Rabel stated. “I’m here to say that it is not, and that if you choose to do this, we will, together with our law enforcement partners here.”
Rabel thanked the FBI Dallas Violent Crimes Task Force, the FBI Memphis resident agency, the Nashville Field Office, the Memphis Safe Task Force, and the Dallas Police Department.
****Previous Coverage****
On Wednesday morning, FBI agents conducted a search warrant at a Cordova home linked to the Rapper Pooh Shiesty.
A federal court-authorized search and arrest warrant was executed at the home, an FBI public affairs officer said.
According to the house deed, Lontrell D. Williams is listed as the owner, which is Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty’s birth name.
The house deed did not specify whether the homeowner is Pooh Shiesty or his father, Lontrell Williams Senior.