Memphis rapper Lontrell Williams Jr., also known as Pooh Shiesty, was denied bond Wednesday in a case stemming from the alleged Dallas robbery of fellow rapper Gucci Mane.
Williams was already detained before the hearing and will stay in detention.
Nine people, including Williams and Memphis rapper Big30 — whose real name is Rodney Wright — were charged with allegedly kidnapping and robbing Gucci Mane, whose real name is Radric Davis, at gunpoint in a Dallas music studio in January, according to a federal complaint unsealed last week.
The Dallas federal court hearing offered the first glimpse into how Williams' lawyers plan to defend him. Bradford Cohen, one of three lawyers for Williams, told reporters outside the courthouse that he suspects the FBI waited three months to bring the case forward because the statements from the alleged victims were inconsistent.
"The FBI doesn't take three months to arrest someone if they believe everything that was said on the night that it occurred," Cohen said. "They were involved the first night and then nothing happened for three months."
The government alleges Williams, who was living in Plano, arranged a business meeting in Dallas with three "music industry professionals" to discuss the terms of his recording contract on Jan. 10, according to the complaint. Williams was signed to Davis' The New 1017 Records music label in 2020.
Once at the studio, Williams asked Davis to come into the recording booth to discuss his record contract, the complaint alleges. That's when Williams pulled out an AK-style weapon, called a "Draco," and forced Davis to sign a release from his recording contract at gunpoint, court documents say. Williams then allegedly stole Davis' wedding ring, earrings, watch and cash.
Wright allegedly blocked the studio door with his body and recorded Davis verbally releasing Williams from his contract, according to the complaint.
But during the hearing, Cohen pressed FBI Special Agent Pamela Hanson during testimony for more details about the bureau's investigation. Hanson admitted they don't have the alleged contract Davis was forced to sign at gunpoint or the video Wright recorded.
"I'm just shocked that when they say there might be video out there — they don't have it," Cohen told reporters. "There might be this mystery contract — they don't have it."
None of the five alleged victims have been interviewed yet, Hanson said. But there are interviews scheduled in the future, and the Dallas Police Department received statements from the men the night the incident happened.
Each of the men faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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