STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Pooh Shiesty Indicted For Alleged Miami Shooting and Robbery, Rapper’s Instagram Pics Used As Evidence

Federal prosecutors say social media was critical for building the case.

Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty is facing federal charges for an alleged robbery and shooting in Miami after federal investigators built a case using his Instagram posts.

The Miami Herald reports that the 21-year-old rapper, born Lontrell Williams, made his first federal court appearance in Miami on Tuesday (June 29), and will be held in federal custody until a detention hearing on July 6. Shiesty is charged with discharging a firearm during a violent crime, conspiracy and robbery under a law regulating commerce. 

The federal case charges that Shiesty and two other men, Bobby Brown and Jayden Darosa, arranged to purchase marijuana and “high-end athletic sneakers” from two men at the Landon Hotel in Bay Harbor Islands in October. Shiesty, Brown, and Darosa allegedly shot the two men, one in the hip and one in the buttocks, according to a criminal complaint by Miami-Dade Detective Elio Garcia, who is part of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force. 

RELATED: Pooh Shiesty: 5 Things To Know About Memphis’ Skyrocketing Rap Star

The complaint said that the robbery was captured on video surveillance, with Shiesty arriving at the scene in a rented lime green McLaren and allegedly using a Draco subcompact machine gun. The complaint also says Shiesty “never paid either victim for the shoes or marijuana.”

Shiesty had been charged in Miami-Dade state court and freed on bond over the same incident. His defense attorney, Saam Zangeneh, said earlier this month, “We have been in communication with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and we believe they have a federal detainer on him and are likely to file federal charges. That doesn’t change our position as to his 100 percent innocence, in both state and federal matters.”

Federal investigators reportedly used Instagram pics Shiesty posted several days before the robbery in which he allegedly flaunted “several long rifles and plethora of $100.00 bills,” as part of their probe. After the alleged shooting, a Louis Vuitton bag containing $40,912 dollars in cash fell out of the rented McLaren. The serial number on one of the bills in the Louis bag matched that of one of the bills in the photo, according to the complaint.

The complaint also says that Shiesty’s Instagram account showed him posing with a car that matched the description of the rented McLaren, and that Darosa’s Instagram account showed him wielding the same Draco used by Williams. The photos appear to have been taken down.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.