Bobby Shmurda is to remain in jail after his $2m bail application was withdrawn. The 20-year-old rapper appeared in court last Thursday to plead not guilty on conspiracy, guns and drugs charges, and his legal team filed bail paperwork the following day.
Shmurda’s surety was put up by Ira Judelson, a bail bondsman known for helping celebrities with legal problems. “At the end of the day, I’m their bank. I’m the one who is going to be putting up the money to secure their appearance in court,” Judelson told the website Bossip. “Bobby is relying on me to put up the $2m to get him out the door, get him back to his family and get his music career back on track.”
However, the New York Times reports that the bond is no longer on the table. “It’s our understanding that the suretor has withdrawn and that no hearing is currently scheduled,” said Kati Cornell, a spokeswoman for the office of New York City’s special narcotics prosecutor told the paper.
Shmurda’s lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery said: “We’re trying to do a new bond application and are in the process in the figuring that out. We’re hoping to get it done within the next week.”
Speaking after Shmurda’s court appearance last week, Montgomery had said he expected Shmurda to be released on bail this week. But with no new bail hearing scheduled, it is now unclear how long Shmurda will remain in jail.
Shmurda – real name Ackquille Pollard – was arrested on 17 December in New York after police found crack cocaine and two handguns in a car he was travelling in. An investigation into his crew, GS9 – alleged by prosecutors to be a criminal gang – resulted in a total of 69 charges against Shmurda and 12 others, with two men accused of murder.
Shmurda’s next scheduled court date is 22 April.
