Gucci Mane Kidnapped at Gunpoint in Dallas: DOJ Charges Pooh Shiesty, Big30, and Seven Others

The Department of Justice announced Thursday that nine people — including Memphis rappers Pooh Shiesty and Big30 — have been arrested after allegedly orchestrating an armed takeover at a Dallas recording studio on January 10, kidnapping and robbing Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane and two other music industry professionals at gunpoint.

What Happened at the Studio

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, on January 10, 2026, Gucci Mane — whose legal name is Radric Delantic Davis — traveled with two other music industry professionals to a Dallas recording studio for what was presented as a business meeting. The meeting had been arranged by Lontrell Denell Williams Jr., known professionally as Pooh Shiesty, reportedly to discuss the terms of Williams Jr.'s recording contract with one of the victims, according to a federal complaint.

Once the three men were inside the studio, Williams Jr. and eight co-conspirators — several of whom had traveled from Memphis — executed what the DOJ described as an "armed takeover." Williams Jr. pulled out an AK-style pistol and forced one of the victims to sign a release from a recording contract at gunpoint, federal officials said. The remaining co-conspirators also produced firearms and robbed the other victims of Rolex watches, jewelry, cash, and other high-value items. One victim was choked to the point of near-unconsciousness, according to the complaint. Rodney Lamont Wright Jr. — known as Big30 — barricaded the door to prevent the victims from escaping.

Nine Suspects, Eight Already in Custody

Ryan Raybould, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, announced the charges at a press conference in Dallas on Thursday. Eight of the nine suspects were arrested Wednesday in Dallas, Memphis, and Nashville. The named suspects are: Lontrell Williams Jr. (Pooh Shiesty), Lontrell Williams Sr. (Pooh Shiesty's father), Rodney Wright Jr. (Big30), Kedarius Waters, Terrance Rodgers, Damarian Gipson, Demarcus Glover, Kordae Johnson, and Darrion McDaniel. As of Thursday, Terrance Rodgers had not yet been arrested, according to the DOJ.

Pooh Shiesty's father, Lontrell Williams Sr., is alleged to have helped plan and execute the kidnapping. FBI Memphis confirmed to Action News 5 that Williams Sr. was arrested following a raid at the family's home in Cordova, Tennessee.

If convicted, each defendant faces a sentence of up to life imprisonment, according to the DOJ.

A Cascade of Evidence

Federal prosecutors laid out an unusually detailed evidentiary record. Electronic monitoring data placed Williams Jr. at the offense location — a direct violation of his home detention conditions. Cell phone records and license plate reader data corroborated coordinated travel of multiple defendants from Memphis to Dallas. Rental car records showed Williams Sr. had rented a vehicle used by the group. Surveillance footage captured activity at the studio, a nearby office supply store, and a hotel where several defendants stayed after the robbery. Latent fingerprints from the scene matched two defendants. Greyhound Bus records confirmed that multiple defendants traveled from Dallas back to Memphis the day after the offense.

Perhaps most damaging: within hours of the robbery, numerous suspects posted items appearing to be the stolen property on social media, according to federal officials.

Pooh Shiesty Was on Home Detention

The timing of the alleged crime carries significant legal weight. Williams Jr. had been released from federal prison in October 2025, after serving approximately three years for conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence and drug trafficking — charges stemming from a 2021 shooting incident in Miami. He pleaded guilty to those charges in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

At the time of the January 10 studio incident, Williams Jr. was on home detention, with conditions explicitly prohibiting him from committing another crime or possessing a firearm. The electronic monitoring data placing him at the scene of the alleged armed robbery — while on those conditions — substantially strengthens the government's case and will likely factor heavily in any bond and sentencing proceedings.

The 1017 Records Connection

Pooh Shiesty rose to national prominence beginning in 2020 with tracks including "Back in Blood," and was signed to Gucci Mane's Atlanta-based record label, 1017 Records. The label connection — and the alleged motive of forcing a contract release at gunpoint — places the violence directly within a business dispute between an artist and his label founder.

The Hindustan Times reported Thursday that the kidnapping and robbery appear to have been motivated by a feud over Pooh Shiesty's contract with 1017 Records. The DOJ complaint describes the meeting as ostensibly set up to discuss "the terms of his recording contract with one of the victims."

Gucci Mane himself has not made a public statement as of Thursday afternoon. Attorneys for the defendants had not issued public statements at the time of publication.

Federal Charges, Federal Coordination

The investigation was led by the FBI, with assistance from the Memphis Safe Task Force and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee, according to the DOJ. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas.

The multi-city arrest sweep — Dallas, Memphis, Nashville — reflects the coordination required for the alleged conspiracy, which involved defendants traveling from Tennessee to Texas together, renting vehicles, staying at hotels, and then dispersing back to Memphis by bus the following day.

Context: A Recurring Pattern

The case represents a rare instance of a victim of that stature being publicly named in a federal kidnapping and robbery indictment. It also highlights an emerging pattern of federal prosecutors pursuing music-industry violence cases with the same evidentiary infrastructure — cell records, electronic monitoring, social media — used in organized crime prosecutions.

Pooh Shiesty's prior federal conviction, combined with being on home detention when the January incident allegedly occurred, means the government enters this prosecution with substantial leverage. Any trial would be held in the Northern District of Texas.