Federal prosecutors say rapper Boosie Badazz deserves a relatively short prison sentence following his guilty plea on gun possession charges, citing a “difficult upbringing which likely contributed to his current predicament.”
In court documents filed Friday (Jan. 2), prosecutors formally asked a federal judge to put Boosie (Torence Hatch) behind bars for only two years. That’s less than the four years recommended by probation officials, and far less than the 15-year maximum he might have faced if he’d been convicted at trial.
The request is largely in line with a plea deal Boosie struck in August to avoid such a showdown, after he said he was “tired of fighting.” But the new filings also offer more details on why the feds think the rapper is worthy of the reduced sentence — including challenging aspects about Boosie’s early life.
“During his childhood, defendant was witness to domestic violence between his parents as well as his father’s substance abuse issues,” prosecutors write. “The death of defendant’s father due to a brain tumor deeply affected him, leading to depression and behavioral problems in his teenage years.”
A sentencing hearing for the rapper is scheduled for later this week. His attorney did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday (Jan. 5).
Boosie was first charged in June 2023 with being a felon in possession of a firearm — meaning he violated a federal law that prohibits people with felony convictions from owning guns. The rapper had previously been convicted of drug charges in 2011, along with numerous other earlier convictions.
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The details of Boosie’s arrest were unusual. Local authorities spotted a handgun tucked in his waistband while monitoring the Instagram feed of a “known gang member” — then used a helicopter to track him in real-time in an allegedly gang-associated neighborhood of San Diego. After a traffic stop, the rapper was found with a matching Glock pistol in the vehicle.
Following years of procedural ups-and-downs, the case against Boosie was scheduled for a trial this past summer. But in August, the rapper said he would accept a plea deal to “get on with my life.” The feds later revealed that they had promised the two-year sentence in return for the guilty plea.
On Friday, they made good on that promise — formally asking the judge for the shorter sentence by arguing that Boosie had “clearly demonstrated acceptance of responsibility” for his crime. In addition to his “difficult upbringing,” they also cited drug and alcohol problems that started as young as age 8.
“Defendant began consuming alcohol at age 13 and has also experimented with substances such as ecstasy and liquid codeine,” prosecutors wrote. “Most of defendant’s drug and alcohol use is related to his lifestyle as a performer.”
But the feds were not entirely sympathetic. They pointed to Boosie’s “extensive criminal history,” and said that previous prison stints “seemingly have not acted as a deterrent.” They also cited the fact that he had “threatened the safety of his security detail” in the immediate wake of his 2023 arrest, telling one person at the police precinct that he was “going to put you in a body bag.”
“Defendant’s insistence on carrying a weapon despite his status as a convicted felon, coupled with his criminal history which includes threats to harm or kill, and the fact that he threatened another individual in connection with this matter, weigh against any further variance other than that recommended by the United States,” the feds write.
No matter how the judge sentences Boosie this week, the star is reportedly also seeking alternative options via President Donald Trump. According to multiple news outlets, the rapper hired a pair of lobbyists last fall to explore seeking a pardon from Trump, who has issued far more such orders than his predecessors, including recently to live music executive Timothy J. Leiweke.
