New developments have emerged regarding YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s federal firearms case.
According to documents obtained by XXL on Wednesday (June 9), attorneys for the Louisiana rapper, born Kentrell Gaulden, filed a pretrial motion on Monday (June 7) to have their client released pending trial for his Sept. 29, 2020 arrest. YoungBoy was brought into custody on charges of felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and and possession of firearm not registered in the national firearms registration and transfer record.
Elsewhere in the documents, YoungBoy’s legal team claims that they, as well as their client, were blindsided by the FBI’s “inexplicable tactical decision” to arrest the rapper. The legal team notes that in regards to the warrant that was issued for NBA YoungBoy on March 10 and was executed on March 22, resulting in the rapper's arrest after a brief police pursuit in Los Angeles, they were unaware of any additional allegations against YoungBoy aside from prior state-level offenses that he was already on bond for.
Furthermore, the attorneys allege that the feds referred to NBA's case as "Never Free Again," which the legal team deems a "clear attack on to the defendant’s brand 'Never Broke Again,'" according to the court filings. The documents also accuse the Baton Rouge, La. sector of the FBI of opting to contact federal agents in L.A. to arrange YoungBoy's arrest instead of contacting his lawyers and allowing the rapper to voluntarily surrender to authorities.
In another document obtained by XXL this afternoon from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Digital Evidence Laboratory, the legal agency has also cited the investigation into the rapper's arrest as "Operation Never Free Again."
Ultimately, YoungBoy's attorneys are requesting that their client be released into the custody of a private security team retained by the Top rapper and placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring.
YoungBoy's legal case stems from his arrest last September after police were called to a vacant lot where he was filming a music video. According to authorities, police arrived at the scene in response to a call of weapons being brandished at the video shoot. YoungBoy and 15 other men were arrested. After police searched the premises, they discovered 14 firearms, three grams of marijuana, one dose of Hydrocodone inside a clear bag and digital scales. YoungBoy Never Broke Again was released days after the arrest in Sept. 29, 2020.
Last month, the 21-year-old rapper wrote an open letter to his fans, asking them to let him serve out his jail time in peace.
"I ain’t looking for you to feel sorry for me. I just ask for one thing- For you to let me suffer in peace," he wrote. "Tell MS WENDY WILLIAM I say she got a good soul and she’s a beautiful women. I can see that threw all the bad comments thrown at her. Tell her count her blessings (STAY IN GOOD SPIRIT) Sincerely Kentrell."
XXL has reached out to a rep for YoungBoy Never Broke Again as well as his legal team for comment.