A Memphis rapper will stay behind bars after a federal judge in Dallas denied his release on kidnapping charges stemming from an alleged armed confrontation with Gucci Mane’s record label owner.
Lontrell Williams Jr., known professionally as Pooh Shiesty, faced U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver on Wednesday during a detention hearing. Eight additional defendants have been charged in connection with the January incident at a Dallas recording studio, where authorities say multiple victims were held at gunpoint and robbed.
Federal prosecutors have not publicly identified the alleged victims, referring to them only by initials in court documents. One victim, identified as R.D., owns 1017 Records, the music label operated by Gucci Mane, whose real name is Radric Delantic Davis.
“I find that the weight of the evidence against you is strong,” Toliver stated during the proceeding.
The judge highlighted Williams’ previous criminal record and his failure to comply with home detention conditions following an earlier firearms conspiracy conviction in Florida.
Defense attorney Bradford Cohen challenged the prosecution’s case during the hearing. “The FBI doesn’t take three months to arrest someone if they believe everything that was said the night that it occurred,” Cohen argued.
Federal authorities arrested the rapper last week on allegations that he orchestrated the Dallas studio meeting to negotiate his recording contract with 1017 Records.
Court documents detail how Williams allegedly requested a private conversation with the record label owner in a studio booth. Prosecutors claim he then presented contract cancellation documents and brandished what appeared to be an AK-style weapon while compelling the executive to sign the papers.
The affidavit states Williams subsequently stole the victim’s wedding band, timepiece, jewelry, and money.
Though originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Williams had reportedly been residing in a luxury apartment building in Frisco, a Dallas-area suburb, according to federal investigators. Court records indicate several co-defendants made the trip from Memphis to Dallas before the alleged incident occurred.
Gucci Mane has established himself as a foundational figure in trap music, alongside Atlanta contemporaries T.I. and Jeezy. His career launched in the mid-2000s with the hit track “Icy” before developing an extensive musical portfolio.
