Photo: Getty Images
Pooh Shiesty will remain behind bars until trial after a judge denied his final attempt to get out of jail.
During a hearing held on Tuesday, July 21, Judge David C. Godbey declined to reverse a previous decision to deny the "Back In Blood" rapper bond. According to Complex, Pooh Shiesty's lawyers filed a request to the current case judge last month to review a previous judge's ruling that denied their request to place Pooh on house arrest until his trial.
“We are disappointed that the judge rejected our proposal, but we are not totally surprised," Pooh Shiesty’s attorney Kent Schaffer said about the ruling. "Now we will move on to the next phase, preparing for trial.”
The request was filed around the same time Pooh's co-defendant, BIG30, was released from jail on bond. The Memphis artist was granted bail after a judge disagreed with the government's assessment that he was a flight risk and a danger to the community. Pooh's father, Lontrell Williams Sr., was also released on bond, as well as the rapper's alleged partner-in-crime Kedarius Waters.
Pooh Shiesty and eight co-defendants were charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping after they allegedly held Gucci Mane and his two associates at gunpoint at a Dallas recording studio earlier this year. After a discussion about the terms of Pooh's record deal went south, the Department of Justice alleges the rapper, born Lontrell Williams, Jr., and his eight other co-defendants allegedly "executed an armed takeover" as he "forced one of the victims to sign a release from the recording contract" while holding an AK-style pistol.
If convicted, they all face life in prison, but Pooh's sentence could be more severe. He was out on supervised release with an ankle monitor while serving out the rest of a 63-month sentence at a halfway house in Texas. As part of his sentence, Pooh was prohibited from possessing a firearm or being around those who owned one.
Pooh Shiesty is set to face trial on February 22, 2027.