The latest development in YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s federal gun case finds federal prosecutors attempting to block his release on bond, citing the embattled rapper as a danger to the public in light of his past criminal offenses.
“Mr. Gaulden has a history of violence and a history of using firearms,” states prosecutor Damare Theriot in the filed court documents on the case. “We believe that he poses a danger to the community regardless of any conditions the Court would set.” Theriot also pointed to YoungBoy’s attempt to flee during his March 22 arrest as further justification for denying his motion for release. “While he does have financial resources, he attempted to flee in this instant case to avoid arrest, and we have genuine concerns that he would be willing to travel back to Louisiana to face the charges that he is facing here,” Theriot argued.
Andrew Flier, a member of YoungBoy’s legal, denies his client is a flight risk and that he’s willing to wear an ankle monitor and put up deeds to various properties as collateral for his release. “He will… comply with any terms and conditions,” Flier promised the presiding judge, on YoungBoy’s behalf. “I spoke to him about that. I just think that, when you have someone that is in the rap entertainment business, that doesn’t mean he gets a pass for anything. Of course not. But when you have someone that’s in that industry — the reason why I bring it up, he is very well-known. He’s not going to go anywhere. That’s what he does. He makes music, he makes music videos, and he’s very successful. He’s not going to leave the United States. He will comply with any term and condition.”
In addition to the feds’ objection to YoungBoy’s release, it appears that they may have a vendetta against the Baton Rouge native. Documents obtained by the rapper’s legal team and All Hip-Hop confirm that investigators referred to their client, who’s been behind bars since March, federal firearms case as “Operation Never Free Again,” a crude play on the Baton Rouge native’s rap moniker. His attorneys, who deem the citation as a personal attack on the rapper’s brand itself, also claim to have no prior knowledge of the federal charges levied against him that landed him back behind bars. In light of those developments, Gaulden’s legal team has filed a motion for him to be released into the custody of private security and placed on house arrest.
In a pretrial motion filed on Monday (June 7), YoungBoy’s attorneys requested that the rapper, born Kentrell Gaulden, be released pending trial on charges stemming from the initial firearms arrest, including felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm not registered in the national firearms registration and transfer record.
On March 22, 2021, Gaulden was arrested by Los Angeles police following a brief chase and taken into custody on a warrant. The arrest stemmed from an incident that occurred on September 29, 2020, when Gaulden and 15 additional men were arrested after police, responding to reports of weapons being brandished at a video shoot, discovered 14 firearms, three grams of marijuana, one dose of Hydrocodone, and digital scales upon arriving at the premises. The rapper was released on bond days after his arrest, which makes his most recent arrest more confusing, according to his legal team.
Additional claims levied against authorities by Gaulden’s attorneys include the accusation that their client was not afforded the opportunity to turn himself in, as the Baton Rouge chapter of the FBI communicated directly with agents in Los Angeles to facilitate his arrest.