LOGAN, Utah (AP) — A Louisiana-based rap artist pleaded guilty Monday to his role in a large-scale prescription drug fraud ring that operated out of his multimillion-dollar home in Utah.
Rapper NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, walked into a courtroom in Logan, Utah, with his head hung low as he entered the plea for his part in the alleged scheme, KTVX-TV reported.
The 25-year-old rapper was originally charged in the Logan District Court with 46 charges related to the alleged crime. On Monday, he pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree felony identity fraud, two counts of third-degree felony forgery, and six counts of misdemeanor unlawful pharmacy conduct. Gaulden entered a “no contest” plea to the remaining charges.
As part of a plea deal, Gaulden will not serve prison time in Utah. Instead, his four felony charges were reduced to Class A Misdemeanors and he was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine, the television station reported.
District Judge Spencer Walsh agreed to suspend a prison sentence as Gaulden is expected to serve a “substantial” 27 months in federal prison for related charges in a case stemming out of Weber County, Utah. Following his release, Gaulden will then be placed on five years of federal supervised probation.
“This is somewhat of a unique case where there have been multiple jurisdictions involved both in the federal and the state systems,” said state prosecutor Ronnie Keller. “This is just really a smaller cog in the bigger wheel of ultimately seeking justice.”
Gaulden had been living in Utah under house arrest having previously been allegedly involved in a 2019 Miami shooting. His relocation to Utah came as part of a deal in 2021 in which his lawyers argued that “moving to Utah would keep YoungBoy out of trouble."
During his hearing Monday, Walsh said it was clear that Gaulden was a very talented young man.
“I’ve seen so many times where you have young men and women who have a lot of talent and potential. They can be robbed of that potential when they start to really struggle with their addictions,” Walsh told Gaulden. “I don’t want that for you.”
Walsh continued saying, “I’m sure that in your future, once you’re done with your federal prison time, you can be really successful on federal probation and have a really bright future where you can reach your full potential in every aspect of your life. Best of luck to you, Mr. Gaulden.”
Gaulden, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also is known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again and has achieved four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and one Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. His music includes “38 Baby,” “Outside Today” and Tyler, The Creator’s song, “Wusyaname,” on which he is featured with Ty Dolla $ign. That collaboration earned them a Grammy nomination in 2022 for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
Billboard reported only pop star Taylor Swift and rapper Drake had more streams in 2022, despite Gaulden having nearly zero radio airplay. According to Spotify, Gaulden has over 16 million monthly listeners.
FILE - Kentrell Gaulden, also known as NBA YoungBoy, smiles as he is led out of the courtroom by his defense attorney Zack Findling following a hearing in 1st District Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Logan, Utah. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP, File)
FILE - Kentrell Gaulden, also known as NBA YoungBoy, arrives for a hearing in 1st District Court, on May 9, 2024, in Logan, Utah. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 25, 2017, file photo, NBA YoungBoy performs at the Lil' WeezyAna Fest at Champions Square in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The older sister of Daniel Penny, the former U.S. Marine charged with fatally choking a homeless man aboard a Manhattan subway, told jurors Monday that her brother was a “calm, soft-spirited person” with a reputation for honesty and integrity.
Jacqueline Penny, a 27-year-old accountant, was called to the witness stand by Daniel Penny’s attorneys after prosecutors rested their case Monday afternoon, kicking off a defense presentation that immediately sought to burnish the defendant's character and emphasize his military service.
Penny faces manslaughter charges in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man and occasional subway performer known for his Michael Jackson impression.
Prosecutors say Neely was acting erratically but non-violently on the train when Penny threw him to the ground and placed him in a chokehold for six minutes, showing an “indifference” to the life of a man in the throes of a mental health crisis.
Lawyers for Penny counter that their client showed courage by putting his own safety above others as he worked to neutralize a “seething, psychotic” man whose behavior had frightened other riders.
In her testimony Monday, Jacqueline Penny said her brother was a soft-spoken but “always patriotic” striver who followed the other men in the family into the military.
While she painted a picture of a close-knit town and a childhood punctuated with fishing, sports and enduring friendships, she also said their grandparents had been a key source of support to the four Penny siblings when their parents went through a “very difficult” separation during the defendant’s high school years.
She was followed on the witness stand by Alexandra Fay, a childhood neighbor of the family, who spoke of their “typical upbringing” in a Long Island suburb. “He has the same exact friends that he’s had since fifth grade,” she said of Penny.
The defense presentation followed three days of testimony from Dr. Cynthia Harris, the city medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Neely and concluded he'd died of the chokehold. In hours of cross-examination Monday, Penny's attorney, Steven Raiser, sought to cast doubt on that finding, questioning the woman's credentials and suggesting she had offered “no evidence that pressure was maintained in a sufficient way” to kill Neely.
Rather, Raiser said Neely, who had sickle cell condition, may have died after ingesting enough synthetic cannabinoid — or K2 — to trigger a fatal “sickling crisis.” While K2 was found in Neely’s system, Harris said it was “profoundly improbable” that those factors killed Neely.
She then brushed off the defense attorney's insistence that Penny had not applied enough pressure on Neely’s neck to block the flow of blood to his brain. “I believe there is sufficiently consistent pressure to the vital structure of the neck, which led to him losing consciousness and sustaining brain injury,” Harris said.
Manhattan jurors also heard testimony last week from another rider, who said he urged Penny to loosen his grip on Neely’s neck during the fatal encounter, as well as a former martial arts trainer in the U.S. Marines. The trainer said Penny had appeared to misuse a “blood choke” technique that was taught to U.S. Marines as a method to knock a person unconscious.
Jurors were also shown video of Penny's interview with detectives inside the precinct, where he repeatedly referred to Neely as a “crackhead,” then demonstrated the chokehold he'd used to subdue him.
“He had his back turned to me and I got him in a hold, got him to the ground, and he’s still squirming around and going crazy,” Penny said. “He gets a burst of energy at one point and I did have to hold him a little more steady.”
Daniel Penny leaves the courtroom for a lunch break in New York, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Dr. Cynthia Harris, forensic pathologist at the Office of the City Medical Examiner, leaves the courtroom for a lunch break in New York, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Daniel Penny arrives at the court after break in New York, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Daniel Penny arrives at the court after break in New York, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Daniel Penny leaves the courtroom for a lunch break in New York, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Daniel Penny arrives at the court after break in New York, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Daniel Penny leaves the courtroom for a lunch break in New York, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
