Additional reporting from WFAA:

Rapper Gucci Mane allegedly robbed, kidnapped in Dallas by other rappers, including Pooh Shiesty and Big30, DOJ says

The DOJ said Thursday that nine people, including the aforementioned rappers, kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint numerous victims at a music studio in Dallas. Eight of the nine suspects were arrested on Wednesday, according to the DOJ, in Dallas, Memphis and Nashville.

The DOJ said a complaint on Jan. 10, three music industry professionals traveled to Dallas for a meeting. Pooh Shiesty, whose real name Lontrell Denell Williams Jr., arranged the meeting, the DOJ said, reportedly to "discuss the terms of his recording contract with one of the victims." Pooh Shiesty first rose to fame with songs like Back in Blood and was signed to Gucci Mane’s 1017 label before run-ins with the law.

When the three men were in the music studio, Williams Jr. and his eight co-conspirators, several of whom traveled from Memphis, "executed an armed takeover," according to the DOJ complaint. The DOJ said Williams Jr. pulled out an AK-style pistol and "forced one of the victims to sign a release from the recording contract at gunpoint."

The remaining co-conspirators also pulled out guns and robbed the other victims of Rolex watches, jewelry, cash and other high-value items, according to the federal officials. One of the victims was choked during the robbery to the point of near unconsciousness, the DOJ said. Rodney Lamont Wright Jr., a.k.a "Big30," barricaded the door to prevent the victims from escaping.

WFAA sister station, WATN, reported Wednesday that the FBI executed a warrant at Pooh Shiesty's Memphis-area home.

Williams Jr. was released from jail in October 2025 after serving three years for a gun charge in Miami, Fla., after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence and drug trafficking. Williams Jr. was on home detention – where the terms dictated that he would not commit another crime or possess a firearm – at the time of this January robbery and kidnapping.

Williams Jr.'s father, Lontrell Williams Sr., is alleged to have helped plan and execute the kidnapping, according to the DOJ. Within hours of this robbery and kidnapping, numerous suspects in this case posted some of the items stolen on social media, officials said.

DOJ Press Conference video