Memphis rappers Pooh Shiesty and Big30 have been arrested alongside seven others in connection with a violent “takeover” of a Dallas recording studio earlier this year, which allegedly saw the group kidnap and rob Gucci Mane and other music industry professionals of jewelry and cash at gunpoint.
The North Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the arrests on Thursday, confirming Pooh Shiesty, whose real name is Lontrell Williams Jr., and his father, Lontrell Williams Sr., were among those in custody, Action News 5 reported. It comes after federal authorities earlier this week carried out a raid at their family home.
The other suspects were arrested on Wednesday across Dallas, Memphis and Nashville, according to the news outlet. They include Kedarius Waters, Terrance Rodgers, Damarian Gipson, Demarcus Glover, Kordae Johnson and Darrion McDaniel.
The violent incident unfolded at a music studio in Dallas on January 10, when Shiesty invited three music industry professionals to a meeting to discuss his contract.
Shiesty was previously signed to Mane’s 1017 label, the Department of Justice said.
“Instead of discussing business in a civil matter, the defendants resorted to violence and intimidation to achieve their purported business objectives,” said Ryan Raybould, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Authorities have not identified any of the victims, but TMZ reported Mane, whose real name is Radric Davis, was among them.
The DOJ said rapper Big30, real name Rodney Lamont Wright Jr., barricaded the door, forcing everyone to remain inside the studio.
Shiesty then “produced an AK-style pistol and forced one of the victims to sign a release from the recording contract at gunpoint,” the DOJ said. “The remaining conspirators displayed firearms and robbed the other victims of Rolex watches, jewelry, cash, and other high-value items.”
One of the victims was also “choked to the point of near unconsciousness.”
DOJ officials further noted that Shiesty was on home confinement for a prior firearms conspiracy conviction out of the Southern District of Florida. Part of the terms of his home detention were that he could not commit other criminal offenses or possess firearms.
