Pooh Shiesty was once a rising star in the rap scene, but it all came crashing down when the 21-year-old was indicted for felony robbery in June.
Shiesty, whose real name is Lontrell Williams, had allegedly shot a security guard in the leg at the King of Diamonds club on Sunday, May 30th.
Amid the investigation, Pooh Shiesty was nabbed by authorities after he posted a slew of incriminating snaps to Instagram related to a different crime.
But who exactly is the Memphis-born rapper, who had a surefire career in hip hop before he ran into the wrong side of the law?
Rising rap star
Pooh Shiesty first gained notoriety after hip hop heavyweight Gucci Mane reached out to him following the release of several singles and signed him to his label, 1017 Records.
The pair eventually went on to collaborate on Gucci Mane’s single, ‘Still Remember’, which was released on June 19, 2020.
Probably best known for his 2020 single, ‘Back in Blood’ featuring rapper Lil Durk, Pooh Shiesty well and truly exploded into the scene with the single’s release, which boasts over 165 million views on YouTube.
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He then released his debut commercial mixtape, Shiesty Season, on February 5, 2021, which stormed the charts, peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard 200. Amid his rising fame, Shiesty soon received a co-sign from fellow Memphis rapper Juicy J.
Arrest
As reported by the Miami Herald, Pooh Shiesty was arrested on Tuesday, June 8th on an aggravated battery charge.
A warrant issued for Shiesty’s arrest claimed that the security guard was escorting him out of the club when someone allegedly knocked money out of his pocket.
From there, the crowd reportedly began trying to grab the cash, which led to Shiesty returning to the stage while the security guard attempted to stop him from taking his gun out of his waistband.
As reported by NME, it was when he was once again being escorted out of the club that Shiesty allegedly fired one shot at the security guard.
However, according to CBS Miami, the security guard has since recanted his story by telling investigators that he does not remember being shot by Shiesty. Authorities are currently investigating why he has changed his story.
Meanwhile, the US attorney has now placed a federal retainer on another pending criminal case involving Shiesty over a separate shooting in October 2020 at Bay Harbor Island, Florida in which two men were wounded.
Williams, as well as two other men – Bobby Brown and Jayden Darosa – allegedly arranged to buy some marijuana and “high-end athletic sneakers” from two men at the Landon Hotel in Bay Harbor Islands.
Shiesty, Brown, and Darosa allegedly shot the two men, one in the hip and one in the buttocks, according to a criminal complaint by Miami-Dade Detective Elio Garcia, who is part of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force.
The robbery was captured on video, which allegedly shows Shiesty arriving at the scene in a rented lime green McLaren and allegedly using a Draco subcompact machine gun.
The complaint also says Shiesty “never paid either victim for the shoes or marijuana.”
Federal investigators reportedly used Instagram pics Shiesty posted several days before the robbery in which he allegedly flaunted “several long rifles and plethora of $100 bills”.
According to BET, Shiesty was also connected to the crime after a Louis Vuitton bag containing $40,912 dollars in cash fell out of the rented McLaren used during the robbery.
The serial number on one of the bills in the Louis bag matched that of one of the bills in the photo, according to the complaint.
Shiesty also reportedly posted photos of himself in a car that appeared to match the description of the McLaren.
The rapper’s defence attorney previously spoke with Miami Herald and weighed in on the matter.
“We have been in communication with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and we believe they have a federal detainer on him and are likely to file federal charges,” defence attorney Saam Zangeneh previously told Miami Herald.
“That doesn’t change our position as to his 100% innocence, in both state and federal matters.”
The rapper was taken into federal custody and made his first federal court appearance on Tuesday, June 29.
For more on this topic, follow the Hip Hop Observer.
Check out ‘Back In Blood (feat. Lil Durk)’ by Pooh Shiesty:
