Federal prosecutors are accusing NBA YoungBoy (a.k.a. YoungBoy Never Broke Again) of violating the terms of his house arrest by using unspecified drugs — and of telling his supervising officers that he has “no intentions” of stopping.
In a filing Thursday (Feb. 29), prosecutors asked a Louisiana federal judge to set a hearing to deal with the rapper’s “noncompliant behavior” while he awaits a July trial on federal gun charges. They say he violated a rule forbidding him to “use or unlawfully possess a narcotic drug or other controlled substance” while under house arrest.
“The undersigned has learned that the defendant has violated [this rule] and has informed his supervising officer that he has no intentions to discontinue using the substance that resulted in the violation,” U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. wrote in the filing.
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The filing did not specify what drug YoungBoy is accused of using. The rapper’s attorneys did not return a request for comment; they will likely file a formal response to the allegation in the days ahead.
YoungBoy was indicted by Louisiana federal prosecutors in March 2021 on charges of “felon in possession of a firearm” after he was allegedly found with two guns during a September 2020 incident in Baton Rouge, La. Possessing guns would be illegal for YoungBoy since the rapper was previously convicted in 2017 of aggravated assault with a firearm.
When he was arrested in Los Angeles on those charges, another gun was found in his car, leading to a similar case brought by California federal prosecutors. YoungBoy was acquitted on those charges following a July 2022 trial, but he’s still facing a looming trial in Louisiana over the original indictment.
While awaiting trial, YoungBoy has been confined to his Salt Lake City mansion — a house arrest that has now lasted more than two full years. In October, his attorneys pleaded that the “long period of social isolation” was harming his mental health. They asked that the judge loosen restrictions, including allowing him to travel to a recording studio to create new music. But that request was largely denied in November.
YoungBoy’s trial is scheduled to kick off on Jul. 15 and is expected to run for two weeks.