Since October of 2021, rapper Fetty Wap has been involved in a court case regarding a drug smuggling operation happening across New York; this week he has officially been sentenced to 6 years in prison for his involvement.
After his initial arrest in October of 2021, Fetty Wap pled guilty to the charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances, regarding cocaine, in 2022. Because his legal team convinced him to talk to prosecutors about a plea deal, he did not have to go through a court trial. The mandatory minimum sentence for a drug trafficking charge is 5 years, however the prosecutors were pushing for a 7 year and 3 month long sentence instead.
Initially, it was unclear just how involved in the operation Fetty Wap truly was. With this, his lawyers began trying to gain some sympathy for the rapper, claiming he was only involved because he was struggling financially. They continued to claim that he was not acting as a part of the operation for his own “personal gain” but “he was motivated by his commitment to financially support others. He now realizes that he does not have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
Despite their attempts to gain sympathy, the prosecution continued to push for a higher sentence than the minimum. Prosecutors said that “The defendant told the Probation Department that he made $5 million during his music career. Nevertheless, this defendant chose to supplement his income by trafficking large quantities of drugs — drugs he knew would ruin lives.”
This Wednesday, Fetty Wap stood before US District Judge Joanna Seybert to apologize and told the judge that he is “exactly where [he’s] supposed to be.” He also told the judge that him “being selfish in [his] pride put [him] in this position today.” After sentencing the rapper to 6 years in prison, Judge Seybert told Fetty Wap: “You’ve got a lot going for you. See if you can put it together.”
With this sentence, Fetty Wap will be in prison until 2028, when he will become eligible for parole.