Charges Against Rapper Dropped After Allegedly Shooting Police Officer

A teen rapper accused of shooting an NYPD officer in the Bronx earlier this year has had the charges dropped, officials confirmed to New York Post. According to the city Law Department, the gun and assault case against Camrin Williams, a reputed gangbanger and rapper who goes by C Blu, "cannot be prosecuted."

Williams was on probation for a prior gun case when he allegedly shot 27-year-old police officer Kaseem Pennant in the leg in January. Williams posted the bond of $250,000, which the Bronx Supreme Court's Justice Denis Boyle set in February from an advance from Interscope Records after signing a recording contract.

Within a week of his bail being posted, Williams was back in juvenile court for violating his probation. But Williams' luck changed in May when his latest case was dropped. "The Law Department has determined that this case cannot be prosecuted," said Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesman for the agency. "But let's be clear: Just because the city cannot prosecute doesn't mean this individual should have been carrying an illegal weapon — a weapon which contributed to both him and an officer being shot." According to a statement from the Law Department, "Pursuant to Family Court Law, the case is now sealed, and we are unable to say more about the matter."

"Mayor Adams and the NYPD demonized my client in the press and accused him of shooting a police officer," said Williams' attorney Dawn Florio. "My client is thrilled that ... the matter will be closed and sealed, that all charges have been dropped. It has always been our position that it was the police, not my client, who caused that gun to go off, shooting my client and grazing an officer."

William was among the "disorderly crowd" at Lorillard Place on Jan. 18. According to police reports, they approached the rapper and told him to take his hands out of his pockets. When Williams didn't comply, the police took him to the ground.

During the fight, the gun went off, hitting Officer Kaseem Pennant in the leg and Williams in the groin. Neither of the injuries was life-threatening. Mayor Adams and Police Commissioner Sewell stated that the incident served as evidence of the dangers police face in reducing gun violence in the city. 

However, Bronx Supreme Court Judge Naita Semaj assessed it differently by stating Williams was following all police orders. "He literally does everything you tell your child to do when they're approached by cops. He literally kept his hands up. He literally tried to record to make sure there was proof. He answered questions he had no obligation to answer," Semaj said.

The arresting officer Taulant Gjonbalaj's testimony in court was "incredible and unreliable," she said. "I cannot state how absolutely incredible his testimony was. It was inconsistent with the video, it was inconsistent with his fellow officer's testimony, it was self-serving, it had no value," the judge said.

NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick J. Lynch disagreed with the "absurd decision" to drop Williams' charges."This absurd decision should outrage every New Yorker who wants to get illegal guns off our streets," Lynch said. "There is no dispute that this individual was caught carrying an illegal gun for the second time. If perps like this face absolutely no consequences, even after shooting a cop, we have to ask: why bother sending us out to get the guns at all?"

Williams is one of the Reywey Crew, a subset of the Crips. As a 14-year-old, he was previously arrested in the Bronx for possessing a Tauris firearm in May 2020.