Bobby Shmurda’s legal problems continue to mount. The 20-year-old rapper – who is in prison on Riker’s Island, New York, awaiting trial on charges including conspiracy to commit murder as well as gang, drugs and guns offences, after a $2m bail package fell through – appeared in court on Thursday accused of having his girlfriend smuggle a knife to him in prison.
Shmurda – real name Ackquille Pollard – pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanour charges of promoting prison contraband, perjury and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office, the New York Times reports.
Prison guards allegedly caught his 18-year-old girlfriend Kimberly Rousseau pulling a “sharp metal object” from her bra to hand to Shmurda during a visit last month. Prosecutors say he then lied about the incident during a grand jury hearing. Rousseau had also pleased not guilty to promoting prison contraband.
Shmurda faces seven years in prison if convicted. His next hearing is due in October. If convicted on the earlier charges – prosecutors claim he ran a drugs gang that stretched the length of the east coast – he could face a 25-year sentence.
He came to prominence last year with his hit Hot Nigga, which went viral because of the “Shmoney dance” featured in the video. It has been viewed nearly 120m times on YouTube.
