Law&Crime Sidebar - Rapper Gucci Mane Kidnapped by Pooh Shiesty: Feds

Starting point is 00:00:00 We have a bombshell new legal case on her hands, the alleged robbery and kidnapping of rapper Gucci Main. This case should serve as a warning to others who believe that using violence and intimidation tactics to rob others in our community is a viable way to conduct business. I'm here to say that it is not and that if you choose to do this will bring you swiftly to justice. Wait until you hear not only the allegations but the evidence, surveillance, Instagram accounts, fingerprints. It is something to say the least. We have the criminal complaint that lays out everything, and we're going to break it all down for you right now. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime.

Starting point is 00:00:38 I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, I have to share this. Some really exciting news. Okay, we have spent so much time together here at Law and Crime, obsessing over every wild twist, late-night case, that we wanted to find a way to get you even closer to the action. That is why we're finally launching Law and Crime Plus. This is your new go-to spot for thousands of hours of commercial-free episodes

Starting point is 00:00:59 and exclusive case files where you can really dive into the evidence yourself. We really built this for the community of people that stay up late analyzing every detail while waiting for a verdict, so it's just as much as your space as it is ours. Go ahead, download the app, check out the features. Let us know what you think. You can head out over to longcrimeplus.com today to snag our limited time deal for just $3.99 a month or $40.99 for the year. How do you even make sense of this headline?

Starting point is 00:01:22 Rapper Gucci Main was allegedly robbed and kidnapped by other rappers. So as the Department of Justice puts it in their release statement, quote, this week, nine individuals, including well-known musical artists, were federally charged for kidnapping and robbing a gunpoint numerous victims at a music studio in Dallas, Texas, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Rayboldt. Eight and the nine were arrested in Dallas, Texas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The charged defendants include Lantrell Williams Jr., aka Poo Shaiste, Lantrell-Williams, Jr., aka Poochaiste, Lantre Lantrell, Williams Sr. Rodney Wright Jr., aka Big 30, Cadarious Waters, Terrence Rogers, Damarian Gibson, DeMarcus Glover, Corday Johnson, Darian McDaniel. Actually, by the way, there was a press conference held yesterday, and I want you to listen to that moment where they talk about that one person who was missing in this, right? So those people who's charged, but not everybody had been arrested. So this is

Starting point is 00:02:20 United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Rable. One of the individuals that's been charged has not had his initial appearance yet, but agents are actively working to locate and bring him to court. And I wanted to touch on that actually, Eric Bushman of the KRLD. Since there's one person you're still trying to get to come in, I guess it's not an repress to its initial appearance. You would have said that you're trying to work out. Because you're going public with this, are you afraid at all that that's going to hinder and eventually the animus vigil. Agents are working to find him. The complaint has already been unsealed.

Starting point is 00:02:52 And a number of these defendants have had their public hearing already, their initial appearance. And so it's already out there that this individual has been charged. And so that information is in the public record. But I trust that the agents will be able to identify this person and find them and bring them to justice. Of course, that person can turn themselves in immediately. And I have a 32-page criminal complaint that was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas that I'm going to break down for you. simply as possible. I want you to know the allegations, the potential evidence, the parties, okay, gives you an idea about what this case is about. And I got to say this, before I even get

Starting point is 00:03:32 into it, you're going to understand after I go through this, why these individuals were arrested in light of this alleged evidence, but, but, but, but all of them are innocent until proven guilty. I got to say that because, again, you're going to listen to this and you might be saying, wow, the evidence against them is arguably really bad. But nothing has been. proven as of yet. Okay, with that caveat, let's get into it. So this is an affidavit and is a sworn statement from an FBI special agent in support of a criminal complaint. And this is the statement of probable cause that crimes were committed. Okay? It starts by claiming that on January 10th, 2026, the victims who are only identified by initials, by the way, and they include R.D., which we

Starting point is 00:04:20 have to assume is Gucci-Main, because his real name is Radrick Davis. They say they were robbed and kidnapped at gunpoint at a music studio in Dallas, Texas. Now, there was apparently a scheduled meeting between R.D. and suspect Launtrae Williams Jr. And apparently, this hip-hop artist is known as Pushaiste, and he was reportedly signed to R.D.'s record label 1017 records. Now, this meeting was reportedly about a contract dispute. This is, again, according to process, and he was, And it seems that Williams, Williams Jr., wanted out. So the affidavit claims that when R.D. and the other alleged victims in this case and others go into this office building, they realize it's closed.

Starting point is 00:05:02 So William Sr., this is apparently Williams Jr.'s father, was apparently trying to book a recording studio that day for his son and for R.D. to record music. William Sr. was apparently talking to this unidentified individual, just known as J.N., another player in this, who owns the studio, it's inside this office building. So now you get the geography, what we're talking about here. So the affidavit includes apparent stills from surveillance footage that arguably shows William Sr. speaking to someone on the phone outside the building. I'm going to give you a little preview here. There are a lot of stills, a lot of stills in this criminal complaint. And by the way, that helps corroborate the details. It helps corroborate the timeline.

Starting point is 00:05:44 It helps corroborate the events that are laid out when you have purportedly time, stamp stills of this surveillance video. Now, an assistant reportedly arrives to help with production at 3.39 p.m. that day, and the affidavit claims that this father and son duo, the Williams, Williams's Williams, is arguing with somebody on the phone. Okay, they're arguing. And I'm going to read you this verbatim. Quote, at approximately 3.43 p.m., Williams Jr. and Williams Sr., Wright, Johnson, Waters, Rogers, Gibson, Glover, and McDaniel entered the east side of the office. office building. The target suspects walk through the lobby area of the office building before going inside the studio. One individual with a dreadlock hairstyle, later identified as Gibson,

Starting point is 00:06:30 can be seen on video exiting the office building and shortly thereafter returning with a bag slung over his shoulder. Again, embedded in this complaint are the apparent surveillance stills. Okay. Now, the affidavit claims they go into the studio where the victims were, the alleged victims were. And there are stills, by the way, they included the studio lobby, the control room, the recording room. And at one point, it is alleged that Williams Jr., who was, by the way, this is, I was blown away by this detail, was allegedly wearing an ankle monitor, okay, goes to speak to RD privately about the contract. I'll talk about the ankle monitor in a second. But there is allegedly an argument, and it ends up with Williams Jr. being accused of taking out a black

Starting point is 00:07:17 AK-style pistol and pointing it at RD, allegedly demanding he signed the contract-release paperwork. Now, RD allegedly complied, signed it. Again, we're assuming this is Gucci-Mane. And there is the claim that R.D., seemingly Gucci-Maine, was not allowed to leave as he was being held at gunpoint. There are allegations that Wright allegedly recorded R.D. signing the paperwork and being forced to say he released Williams Jr. from the contract. And then afterwards, it's alleged that Williams Jr. took Ardy's wedding ring and watch and earrings and cash.

Starting point is 00:07:52 I do wonder if they have that video. Okay, I do wonder if they have that. But I'm going to read you verbatim again from the complaint. Waters, Rogers, Johnson, Glover, McDaniel, and Gibson produced handguns or AR-A-K-style pistols and began to demand property from BP and MM. BP was pushed onto a couch in the control room, while an individual known to BP as CMO Dam Fu and part of Williams Jr.'s' crew searched his pockets and stole his wallet. BP's chain and a necklace were stolen from his neck. McDaniel threatened to shoot BP for moving, but Williams Jr. instructed McDaniel not to.

Starting point is 00:08:29 MM was choked from behind to the point of nearly losing consciousness during the kidnapping and robbery, resulting in scratches on his neck and wrist. Now, embedded in the complaint are what appears. to be photos seemingly showing cuts or abrasions on M.M.'s neck and wrist. And there is a claim that his wallet and watches and a Louis Vuitton bag and headphones were stolen. And if you're wondering about the security, right? Didn't they have security with him? Well, the claim is that the victim's security realized they were outnumbered and outgunned. Goes on to say, quote, R.D. was pushed onto the couch in the control room. Again, we're talking seemingly about Gucci Main, causing the victims

Starting point is 00:09:06 to believe they were going to be executed. Williams Jr. placed the barrel of a firearm to the back of BP's head and ordered him and R.D. to leave the control room in the studio through the west entrance of the office building. R.D. then instructed C.W. and T.D. to escort them to their vehicle. As the victims left, M.M. turned to Williams Jr. and asked him if they were really taking his watches. Based on later recovered surveillance video footage, the target suspects left the studio and the office building through the east entrance at approximately 4.48 p.m. And from there, the affidavit lays out the photos of the alleged suspects purportedly leaving the building and also the cars that were believed to be connected to them traveling northbound. Now, how did

Starting point is 00:09:50 they find the alleged suspects? So this is really interesting. We're going to start with vehicle identification. So the affidavit claims that Wright's father owns a 2020 Dodge Charger Helicat with Tennessee plates. The authorities apparently use license plate readers to track the charger following another car, a Dodge Ram, we're talking about 218 p.m. on January 10th, and they claim that that Dodge Ram looks like the one on surveillance video near the crime scene later that afternoon. They apparently use license plate readers to also link the charger traveling very close to a white Buick enclave. And using rental records, they determined that the enclave was rented by Williams Sr. Let's go to electronic location monitoring. Remember when I said the ankle monitor for

Starting point is 00:10:38 Williams Jr. Well, apparently, he was serving a sentence for federal drug and weapons charges. Home detention had to wear an electronic monitoring device. So they're able to use location data from that device to seemingly track his apparent movements near the crime scene. And then the affidavit claims that William Sr. and Williams Jr. went to a staple store earlier in the day. Why? The allegation is to print off the contractual release paperwork, which again was a key part of this whole alleged dispute in an incident. Now, the feds say surveillance video and GPS data put them there. Cell phone records. You know these are always key in a criminal investigation, right? I'm going to read you verbatim what it says. Stay with me.

Starting point is 00:11:24 This is a big part. Investigators obtain cell phone records for Williams Jr., Williams, Senior, Wright, Johnson, Waters, Rogers, and Gibson, and telematics location data and records for the Dodge Charger Helicat and the Dodge Ram. Records indicate, right Johnson, Waters, Rogers, and Gibson traveled together from Memphis, Tennessee to Dallas, Texas, and the Dodge Charger Helicat and the Dodge Ram. They left Memphis on January 8, 2026, and arrived in Dallas in the early morning hours of January 9th, 2026.

Starting point is 00:11:55 The data from Glover's electronic monitoring device aligns with these cell phone records. On January 10th, 2026, from approximately 228 p.m. to approximately 2.46 p.m. Williams Jr., Williams Sr., Wright, Johnson, Waters, Rogers, Gibson, the Dodge Charger Helicat, and the Dodge Ram were in the area of the Winrose Tower, a location William's Jr. resided prior to moving. They all traveled together to the area of a fence location, meaning the crime scene, arriving at approximately 3 p.m. The data from Williams Jr.'s electronic monitoring device and location information for the Buick Enclave line with the cell phone records. Williams Jr., Williams Sr., Wright, Waters, Rogers, Gibson, the Dodge Charger Helicat, and the Dodge Ram traveled together from the area of the offense location, leaving at approximately 4.50 p.m. to the area of the Star in Friscoe, Texas, arriving at approximately 507 p.m. Look how exact this is. Williams, Jr., Williams, Jr., William Sr., Wright, Johnson, Waters, Rogers, and Gibson utilized towers with coverage that includes the Star until approximately 9.30 p.m.

Starting point is 00:13:04 The data from Williams Jr.'s electronic monitoring device and location information for the Buick enclave aligned with the cell phone records. Wright Johnson Waters Rogers Gibson, the Dodge Charger Helicat, and the Dodge Ram. I have to keep repeating it because I think it's important that you identify the different parties here and the different sources of location. Travel together from the area of the Star and Frisco to the area of the Comfort Inn, where they remained overnight. Williams Jr. and Williams Sr. you remained in the area of the star overnight. It goes on to say, cell phone records indicate that on January 13, 2026, right, Johnson and Waters traveled together with the Dodge Ram from Dallas, Texas to Memphis, Tennessee. So if these allegations are true, you are seeing firsthand in detail

Starting point is 00:13:49 how difficult it is in 2026 in an urban environment to commit a crime and not be tracked. This is a digital world, digital prosecution, and it can be very tough for defense attorneys to argue against the reliability of this data, particularly if you're combining different forms of data, cell phone with surveillance, with GPS monitoring, right? But you heard the Comfort in, by the way, according to the affidavit. The Comfort in Records confirmed, or allegedly confirmed, that Gibson paid for four rooms at the hotel. So now you have financial records, documentation. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage from the Comfort Inn and observed, right, Johnson, Waters, Rogers, Gibson, Glover, McDaniel, inside the Comfort Inn, all clad in clothing,

Starting point is 00:14:36 similar to what the suspects in the kidnapping and robbery appear to be wearing. And in the affidavit are literal side-by-side comparisons of the alleged players, what they were seemingly wearing at the crime scene versus what they were seemingly wearing at the Comfort Inn. Again, all allegations, but you see why this is building up. Now, there is also a section about how investigators found prints or talking fingerprints, latent prints, of Gibson and Rogers on these red solo cups, too, that were apparently left at the crime scene. We move on to social media.

Starting point is 00:15:11 This one's next level, okay? So apparently investigators compare the descriptions of Williams Jr. from the victims, like how they described him, to an Instagram account at Pushai-Sty. And investigators say, it shows a match. And they end up doing that for William Sr. and Wright and Waters and how even there are photos apparently of them together online and how they even match state IDs with these accounts too. And I got to call out Rogers here. Quote, on surveillance footage from the offense location, the individual believed to be Rogers can be seen exiting the building carrying what appears to be the Louis Vuitton bag, MM, reportedly stolen. On January 15, 26, so just a few days later, Rogers posted a video on at Dan,

Starting point is 00:15:58 Fool 375 showing him wearing a Rolex GMT Master 2 with an oyster steel band that appears visually similar to the watch stolen from M.M., who provided investigators with photographs, a receipt, and the serial number for the stolen watch. Additional posts on At Damn Fool 375 show Rogers wearing shoes similar to those he wore during the offense. And they embed photos allegedly showing this too. from Glover's Instagram. Here's a sample. January 11th, 2026, a story featuring a large amount of cash, a Rolex visually similar to the ones stolen from MM, and a location tag of Dallas, Texas,

Starting point is 00:16:41 January 17th, 2026. A story showing Glover with a Rolex that appears identical to the one stolen from MM stating, he got a new rope, believed to be slang for watches or necklaces. January 19th, 2026. Videos of Glover, where wearing a necklace with a 1017 pendant that appears identical to the one stolen from BP. So the allegation being, you didn't only steal all this. You flaunted it. Now, defense attorneys would say not the same necklace. They own this.

Starting point is 00:17:12 These are kind of rare items, though, particularly talking about that Rolex. And I'm sure they could have a dispute about whether or not these items were actually stolen or not. But again, timing, circumstances, the potential rarity of these items, something to keep in mind. Innocent until proven guilty, problematic. Now, something else that I have to note that may be used as evidence later on. So when you apparently go to these guys like Instagram pages, from what I could see, they're pretty much scrubbed. They might have a couple posts still up, but that appears to be it.

Starting point is 00:17:45 You know, Scheistee still has a lot on it, so it's kind of hard to tell if stuff has gone from that. But if prosecutors can prove that they deleted stuff to potentially destroy evidence or try to hide from authority, that will be interesting. Now, I could be wrong. Maybe it was deleted after their arrest for some reason or after the charges. I don't really know, but it's something I've noticed. And then in this paperwork, they do something that I think is really interesting. And I'll just say kind of refreshing because in this criminal complaint, at least for my analysis purposes, they really list out the evidence against each defendant very clearly. So for example, Launtrell Williams Jr., eyewitness accounts state that Williams Jr. brought R.D. into the recording studio and demanded that

Starting point is 00:18:29 R.D. signed the release contract at gunpoint before taking R.D.'s wedding ring, watch, earrings and cash. Eyewitness accounts also placed Williams Jr. in the room when the additional kidnapping and robberies of M.M. and BP occurred. Cell phone records, electronic location monitoring and surveillance footage placed Williams Jr. at the offense location. Electronic location monitoring data also places Williams Jr. at a Staples location with his father, believed to be printing the termination contract prior to arriving at the offense location. And they do this again for every one of the defendants. And then it goes on to say, based on the facts set forth above, there is probable cause to believe that on January 10th, 2026 in the

Starting point is 00:19:05 Dallas Division of the Northern District of Texas, DeMarcus Glover, DeMarion Gibson, Corday Johnson, Darian McDaniel, Terrence Rogers, Cadarius Waters, Landrell Williams, Jr., Launrell Williams, Jr., and Rodney Wright, Jr., conspired to and committed kidnapping in violation of 18 U.S. 1201A and C. By the way, when you hear like that they're together in the same room while other while there's other robberies going on, that's that's the agreement, right? Conspiracy is an agreement to commit a crime and, you know, what were the overt steps taken in furtherance of that agreement? And my understanding, if convicted, each defendant faces a sentence of up to life imprisonment. This is again, according to the DOJ. I mentioned this before, I'll mention again.

Starting point is 00:19:51 There was a press conference that was held and it happened yesterday. I want to play some more sound from it, okay? It fills in some of the details. And again, this is the United States Attorney when asked about the victims, and I think it's interesting what he says. This case really underscores the importance of standing up for crime victims, no matter who they are or where they come from. And the incredible, incredible, collaborative, investigative partnerships that we have

Starting point is 00:20:17 not only in the Northern District of Texas, but across the country. and we are all working together to make our country safer. As far as victims go, we won't get into at this time who the victims are or not. I'm not going to get into the victim stuff at this time. I think that more will be coming out there that will help clarify, but I'm not at liberty at this stage of the investigation to disclose that. Yeah, so at the time of this recording authorities haven't come out and absolutely said this allegedly happened to Gucci, Maine.

Starting point is 00:20:44 There are protections of victims in every state and every prosecution, so you have to keep that in mind. But you know how I mentioned the evidence, right? This is the U.S. attorney talking about that evidence and the punishment. That was one of the reasons I wanted to list off some of the evidence that has been uncovered to date. A lot of this was subpoena work, search warrant work, and things like that in order to develop the investigation. And so the agents here with me, the agents out in the field, it takes a little bit of time to identify who did this offense and build a case so that we feel comfortable bringing the charge. So actually that was that's pretty quickly for a federal case of that of this gravity and this nature and so I'm very proud of the investigative work and it will continue from this office as well as our FBI and our local police department They're they're facing a range so there's no mandatory minimum in this case it's a range of punishment and it'll be in the province of the judge whoever gets the case

Starting point is 00:21:49 but it could be from zero all the way to life imprisonment and as you know a lot of but will guide what's called the sentencing guidelines will be the individual's previous criminal history, the fact that one of these individuals committed defense while on home confinement, so actually serving a federal offense, assuming that individual is convicted, that will be an aggravating factor for sure. Big case, big developments, big evidence, we'll continue to monitor what happens next. But that's all we have you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us.

Starting point is 00:22:21 And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to follow me, ex-instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. See you next time, everybody.

Law&Crime Sidebar - Rapper Gucci Mane Kidnapped by Pooh Shiesty: Feds

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