Fetty Wap Pleads Guilty After Serious Charges

Fetty Wap faces a minimum five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to several serious charges. The "Trap Queen" rapper pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances at the federal courthouse in Central Islip on Long Island. The plea comes after his arrest in Oct. 2021 connected to his reported involvement in a nationwide drug trafficking ring. At the hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke decided such after prosecutors said that the 31-year-old threatened to kill a man during a FaceTime call in 2021. That threat violated the terms of his pretrial release in the case.

As of now, no sentencing date has been scheduled. The rapper's representative has not responded to PEOPLE Magazine for comment on the matter. Fetty was one of six people charged with "conspiring to distribute and possess controlled substances. Born William Junior Maxwell II, Fetty and the others, including a New Jersey corrections officer, is said to have distributed more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine across Long Island and New Jersey. The trafficking reportedly took place over a year, from June 2019 to June 2020. The drugs were purchased on the West Coast. The men are then accused of using the U.S. Postal Service and drivers with hidden compartments in their vehicles to transport them cross-country, where they were stored in Suffolk County, New York, according to the release.

"Maxwell was a kilogram-level redistributor for the trafficking organization," officials said of his role. During a search, $1.5 million in cash, 16 kilograms of cocaine, 2 kilograms of heroin, numerous fentanyl pills, two 9mm handguns, a rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, a .40 caliber pistol, and ammunition were recovered. 

"The fact that we arrested a chart-topping rap artist and a corrections officer as part of the conspiracy illustrates just how vile the drug trade has become," Michael Driscoll, FBI assistant director-in-charge, said in a statement at the time the charges were initially announced post the arrest. 

Fetty reached musical success in 2015 when his debut single reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The rapper has had a difficult year, losing his 4-year-old daughter due to heart issues in July 2021.