Bobby Shmurda was arrested on Wednesday as part of a long-term investigation into gang-related shootings and drug trafficking.
The ‘Hot Nigga’ rapper was one of 15 people arrested in a sting by a violence reduction task force, including G-Unit’s Sha Money XL and several members of Shmurda’s group GS9. He was reportedly sitting in a car outside Quad recording studios in Manhattan, a location famous for being the site of the 1994 non-fatal shooting of Tupac. A raid on his vehicle led to 16 weapons being confiscated, the New York Daily News reports.
Kati Cornell, a spokesperson for New York’s Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, confirmed the arrests, explaining that they are “the result of a long-term investigation” that uncovered “a number of violent incidents as well as narcotics trafficking.” Shmurda is now being held ahead of his Manhattan supreme court arraignment. Cornell said that her office “has a sealed indictment against a number of individuals” that will be revealed early on December 18.
It’s not the first time he’s been arrested this year – in June he was indicted on weapon charges for carrying a loaded Glock handgun, and in October he was arrested for possession of marijuana.
The rapper’s Shmurda She Wrote EP came out in November, featuring his hit single plus tracks with Rowdy Rebel and Ty Real.
Update: according to Tweets from reporter Dean Meminger, Shmurda and the GS9 crew were arrested with 21 guns, pictured here. The two black guns (pictured here in close-up) were reportedly the ones Shmurda was personally carrying. The task force that made the arrests was investigating murders in the Canarsie and Flatbush areas of Brooklyn, and the prosecutor said that Rowdy Rebel, who was also arrested, was involved in a shooting and then performed a show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in the same clothes.
Update 2: Shmurda plead not guilty to the charges and his label put up his $2 million bail. Defense lawyer Howard Greenberg commented on the case in style:
“I’m not going to let them crucify my guys. The police recruit guiltless, loveless informants who are jealous and they point the finger at people who are making their way… My guy has the world in the palm of his hands. He needs to commit crimes like I need to fly the space shuttle… If you read between the lines it’s a bunch of bulls— and you can quote me.”
Update 3: Epic Records A&R Sha Money XL has released a statement regarding the arrests. Sha Money was instrumental in launching the careers of 50 Cent and the rest of G-Unit and was appointed Executive Vice President of Urban A&R at Epic in May 2013. The producer confirmed he was not arrested during the raid:
“I was not arrested. They held me until they searched the studio then let me go. I signed these kids to give them a better way in life not to be dragged down by the media and gunned down by the 40 cops that raided the studio and pointed guns at me for working my job. You have no idea how this makes me feel or look when I’m one of the only few black men signing black artist from the streets and giving them a chance to do better in life.”
Update 4: Speaking to The Fader, Howard Greenberg said that the government was focusing on the rapper because they hate the music. “These people are jealous of a brother on the way up. The government hates rap and the government hates rappers.” The prosecutor for the case also told The Fader that Shmurda’s lyrics would not be added as evidence to the trial.
