NBA YoungBoy’s lawyer says that a trial date has been set for his federal gun charges case in Louisiana.
On Tuesday afternoon, attorney Drew Findling says the rapper is riding high on the recent win in getting the judge to allow video evidence to be secluded. The video evidence prosecution was relying on was footage for a music video in which he is seen holding guns.
The trial date is set for May 16 in Louisiana’s Middle District, and the rapper’s legal team says the behavior of the police towards NBA YoungBoy is the reason for the evidence being thrown out and that he’s innocent.
“We’re 100 percent convinced of his innocence, and now we have to continue to evaluate our strategy,” Findling was quoted as saying to Rolling Stone. “The unconstitutionality of law enforcement was clearly evident to the court and resulted in a slew of evidence being thrown out. We’re looking forward to going to court,” he added.
The evidence that the lawyer referenced is the recent February 24 ruling by U.S District Court Chief Judge Shelly Dick that video footage evidence purportedly showing the rapper possessing one or more firearms found on SD memory cards when the rapper was arrested.
The judge pointed out that the warrant by the police was invalid, and further, they had no right to search the camera, which was akin to searching a cell phone if a suspect is arrested.
The SD cards were searched by police on September 28, 2020, when NBA YoungBoy was arrested at his grandfather’s house.
The judge did deny a defense motion seeking to suppress evidence related to firearms seized from a car owned by the rapper.
According to the judge, the behavior of the police was also wrong leading to the evidence being disqualified. The officer who wrote the warrant had included misleading information on the document, which allows police to search and seize any incriminating material.
The “misleading information” claimed that a “reliable witness” had informed the police that a group of people was seen brandishing firearms and filming a rap video on September 28, 2020.
However, it was later determined that an anonymous citizen called in the report on a 911 call on September 28.
“The whole truth would have included that the tip about the rap video came in on September 27 — not September 28 — which would have negated probable cause to search the SD cards and camera for evidence of who possessed firearms or narcotics on September 28,” Judge Dick said in the lengthy ruling.
“It’s always significant to have a motion to suppress granted in whole or in part, and anytime you succeed in the federal system, that type of victory is magnified to an even a greater degree,” Findling said of the victory.
NBA YoungBoy is currently on pre-trial house arrest in Utah. YB pleaded not guilty to charges that he was a felon in possession of an unregistered Masterpiece Arms 9 mm and a .45 caliber Glock Model 21 pistol when he was arrested by police.
He is also facing separate gun possession charges in Los Angeles, not even two weeks after the Baton Rouge incident.
