Pooh Shiesty is due in federal court in Dallas on Wednesday, where a judge will decide whether the rapper should be released from federal custody after last week’s kidnapping and robbery arrest. The hearing puts Lontrell Williams Jr., who records under the name Pooh Shiesty, back before a court while prosecutors press a case that has widened to include his father and rapper BIG30.
Federal authorities have charged nine people in connection with the armed robbery and kidnapping of three people at a Dallas music studio, with allegations tied to an incident in January. The FBI says Williams Jr. set up a meeting with Gucci Mane in Dallas, then held him at gunpoint with an AK-style pistol while demanding to be released from his contract. Gucci Mane had a recording deal with Williams Jr. under The New 1017 Records label.
That backdrop is why Wednesday’s hearing matters now. Williams Jr. was supposed to be on home confinement for a 2022 federal case involving conspiracy and drug trafficking, and investigators said they tracked him using his ankle monitor. The FBI also said photos of the suspects were posted on social media after the robbery, and that the suspects are accused of stealing watches, jewelry and cash from Gucci Mane and his associates.
The case has already moved on another front. On Monday, a federal judge in Memphis granted bond to Lontrell Williams Sr. and planned to release him to home confinement, but the United States attorney in North Texas objected and filed a motion seeking to keep him in custody. Williams Sr., rapper BIG30, and six defendants were charged in connection with the Dallas incident.
Attorney John Helms said, “We will have his dentition and probable cause hearing tomorrow.” He said, “We expect to contest those and we are looking forward to finding out more details we don't think the complaint reveals.” Former federal prosecutor Richard Roper said the complaint appears strong, pointing to the alleged theft and the social media posts that followed. He also said release is unlikely if a judge finds Williams Jr. violated the terms of his release, especially when the allegations involve the threatened use of a firearm.
For Williams Jr., Wednesday is the immediate test. For prosecutors, the broader question is whether the Dallas case remains a robbery prosecution or becomes another example of how quickly a defendant already under supervision can end up facing a fresh federal custody fight.
