On Friday, one of the two federal firearms cases that the top-charting rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again, real name Kentrell D. Gaulden, had been involved in was concluded with a not-guilty verdict.
On the second day of deliberations, a jury in Los Angeles reached a decision after roughly two hours. NBA YoungBoy or YB, as Mr. Gaulden is popularly called among fans, faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.
YoungBoy was arrested in March 2021 in the Los Angeles region on a different federal gun possession warrant related to an earlier incident in the rapper's home state of Louisiana. This arrest led to the California accusation of gun possession. YoungBoy was one of 16 individuals charged in September 2020 with having weapons and illegal substances at a film shoot in Baton Rouge. According to his attorneys, none of the illegal substances were in his hands.
According to prosecutors in the Central District of California, when officers tried to serve the warrant, in that case, YoungBoy at first appeared to cooperate by stopping his Mercedes Maybach before reversing course and giving them a "high-speed pursuit." Police discovered an FNX.45 caliber handgun, ammo, cash, and jewelry beneath the front passenger seat after the rapper escaped on foot.
YoungBoy's attorneys contended that the rapper fled because he panicked when armed cops approached his car and were unaware that he had a federal warrant out for his arrest. According to them, he was unaware that the weapon was in the car, and neither DNA nor useable fingerprints could link YoungBoy to the firearm.
According to court documents, prosecutors tried to connect YoungBoy to the gun by using a social media image and video of him holding "a gold and tan pistol that seemed identical to the rifle discovered from his car." They maintained that the shot was taken at the same Philadelphia store where YoungBoy had purchased the jewelry that was also discovered in the automobile. Rapper's attorneys said that it was impossible to determine that the gun was the same one since it was exactly like an airsoft replica.
Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles U.S. attorney's office, said in a statement, "We think the evidence provided in this case supports the allegations levied by the grand jury." "We appreciate the jury's judgment even if we are upset with the outcome."
R. Gary Klausner, the trial's judge, decided to forbid the use of three YoungBoy song lyrics in court as the trial got underway on Tuesday. The songs "Gunsmoke," "Life Support," and "Lonely Child," according to the prosecution, were references to "a person related to the purchaser of the gun, the pistol model found in his car, and the jewelry maker of the gun's companion."
However, the rapper's legal team successfully claimed that the "hardcore" and "very inflammatory" rap lyrics would be detrimental and were not directly relevant, pointing out that the song referencing an FN pistol was published before the FN gun was confiscated from the Maybach was bought.
They stated in a court document that "it's for fun." The jury could conclude from the song that Mr. Gaulden is a violent person and carry that assumption into the deliberation room, even if it is not an acknowledgment of additional evil deeds by the rappers.
"The actual questions are 1) whether he knew the pistol was inside the car and 2) if he meant to possess it," the rapper's attorneys continued. It's a really straightforward scenario.
YoungBoy, who competes with artists like Drake and Taylor Swift for the most streamed music in the United States so far this year, is well known for his unfiltered reality rap, prolific production, and devoted online fan base. He has consistently topped the Billboard album chart since signing a $2 million deal with Atlantic Records in 2016 — reaching No. 1 with four albums in less than two years — but he continues to operate mainly outside the mainstream entertainment industry in part due to his continuous legal problems.
YoungBoy was involved in a non-fatal drive-by shooting for which he was first charged with attempted first-degree murder. In 2017, he pled guilty to aggravated assault with a firearm and was given a suspended 10-year prison term, along with probation. The rapper was sentenced to 90 days in jail in 2019 after many charges, including one for a domestic violence incident in which he admitted to misdemeanor abuse.
YoungBoy has been imprisoned at home in Utah since being given a $500,000 bail on the federal firearms charges in October. During this time, he has continued to make music and share it.
Louisiana's extra federal firearms lawsuit against YoungBoy is still pending. His attorneys have claimed that he was unfairly singled out for prosecution, pointing out that one of law enforcement's operations was known as Never Free Again, "an evident parody of Gaulden's immensely successful music and marketing brand." The rapper's legal team was successful in getting video evidence that was allegedly taken illegally concealed from the trial.
According to the rapper's attorneys, his arrest in Los Angeles last year was "a vast and totally unwarranted military exhibition of force and intimidation."
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