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In a shocking turn of events, rappers Pooh Shiesty and Big30, alongside several others, have been implicated in a dramatic armed robbery and kidnapping involving fellow artist Gucci Mane.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Gucci Mane, born Radric Delantic Davis, was allegedly targeted by the two rappers in Dallas. The DOJ revealed that nine individuals, including Pooh Shiesty and Big30, allegedly executed a brazen robbery and kidnapping at gunpoint at a Dallas music studio.
On Thursday, the DOJ announced the arrest of eight suspects connected to the incident, apprehended in cities including Dallas, Memphis, and Nashville. The arrests followed a complaint that described how, on January 10, three music industry professionals flew to Dallas for a meeting purportedly arranged by Pooh Shiesty, real name Lontrell Denell Williams Jr. This meeting was reportedly set up to negotiate the terms of his recording contract with one of the victims. Pooh Shiesty, known for hits like “Back in Blood,” previously gained attention as a signee of Gucci Mane’s 1017 label but has since faced legal challenges.
During the meeting, the DOJ alleges that Williams Jr. and eight accomplices, some traveling from Memphis, launched an “armed takeover” of the studio. The complaint details how Williams Jr. brandished an AK-style firearm, coercing one of the victims at gunpoint to sign a release from a recording contract.
When the three men were in the music studio, Williams Jr. and his eight co-conspirators, several of whom traveled from Memphis, “executed an armed takeover,” according to the DOJ complaint. The DOJ said Williams Jr. pulled out an AK-style pistol and “forced one of the victims to sign a release from the recording contract at gunpoint.”
The remaining co-conspirators also pulled out guns and robbed the other victims of Rolex watches, jewelry, cash and other high-value items, according to the federal officials. One of the victims was choked during the robbery to the point of near unconsciousness, the DOJ said. Rodney Lamont Wright Jr., a.k.a “Big30,” barricaded the door to prevent the victims from escaping.
WFAA sister station, WATN, reported Wednesday that the FBI executed a warrant at Pooh Shiesty’s Memphis-area home.
Williams Jr. was released from jail in October 2025 after serving three years for a gun charge in Miami, Fla., after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence and drug trafficking. Williams Jr. was on home detention – where the terms dictated that he would not commit another crime or possess a firearm – at the time of this January robbery and kidnapping.
Williams Jr.’s father, Lontrell Williams Sr., is alleged to have helped plan and execute the kidnapping, according to the DOJ. Within hours of this robbery and kidnapping, numerous suspects in this case posted some of the items stolen on social media, officials said.
Listen to the full DOJ press conference here:
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