The prolific rapper will receive credit for time served back to May
NBA YoungBoy finally resolved his dueling federal firearms cases Tuesday by pleading guilty to one count linked to his 2020 gun possession arrest in Louisiana and a separate count tied to a more recent gun charge filed in Utah.
He was sentenced on the spot to 23 months in prison with credit for time served back to May when he was taken into custody following a raid on his Utah home. The raid turned up a semi-automatic pistol in the master bedroom of his Utah home and evidence pointing to his role in what prosecutors called a large-scale prescription drug fraud ring.
The rapper, born Kentrell Gaulden, agreed to plead guilty in the Louisiana case last summer, but the complexity of his prosecution spanning multiple jurisdictions took some time to sort out. In his plea agreement, Gaulden admitted he was a felon in possession of a Masterpiece Arms 9 mm gun and a .45 caliber Glock Model 21 pistol when he was arrested filming a music video outside his grandfather’s house in Baton Rouge on Sept. 28, 2020. He further admitted he “knowingly possessed” the Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol found in the Utah home where he was serving house arrest related to the pending Louisiana case.
Officials raided the Utah home last April as they investigated the claim Gaulden was posing as a doctor to obtain prescription painkillers. He was slapped with dozens of charges alleging forgery, identity fraud, and unlawful conduct related to a pharmacy. He pleaded no contest to 10 charges in November and had the rest of the case dismissed, online court records show. As part of his plea deal in the federal case, a separate state prosecution involving the gun found during the raid was dismissed.
Gaulden’s high-powered lawyer, Drew Findling, did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
After he is released from custody, Gaulden will serve 60 months of probation, the judge said Tuesday. The 24-year-old rapper raised in Baton Rouge has been one of the rap music industry’s most prolific artists since releasing his first mixtape, Life Before Fame, in April 2015. His fourth LP, The Last Slimeto, earned positive reviews when it was released while he was under house arrest.
