BATON ROUGE, La. — Rapper NBA Youngboy dismissed of one of two felony gun-related charges following a federal judge who granted the government's request to drop the accusation "in the interest of justice," according to WBRZ.
Three years ago, NBA Youngboy, whose legal name is Kentrell D. Gaulden, was indicted by a grand jury.
Gaulden was allegedly carrying a gun illegally as a convicted felon. WBRZ says he was also accused of not registering the gun.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick dismissed the gun registration-related charge after prosecutors sought to drop it last week. "They did not elaborate beyond telling Dick 'the United States now wishes to dismiss (the charge) in the interests of justice."
Gaulden's lawyers asked the judge to dismiss the indictment in its entirety "on the grounds that laws prohibiting possession of a gun by a felon violate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." The government's reply stated that there is a historical precedent for disarming felons, and the accusation should stand.
In 2017, the rapper pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault charge following a shooting in 2016 in Baton Rouge, our partners reported. He was initially charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
The current case says Gaulden was one of 16 people arrested when police found several firearms and drugs on the site of a music video location he was filming. He pleaded not guilty.
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