New York rapper Bobby Shmurda has had a tough time in jail since his arrest by the NYPD during a drug bust at an apartment in 2014. When one of the occupants opened the door slightly to see who was there, Officer Douglas Corso and other police officers kicked in the door and illegally entered the residence without a search warrant. The rapper has a pending lawsuit against the NYPD over the arrest.
Shmurda, whose real name is Ackquille Pollard, pleaded guilty in October 2016 to one count of conspiracy and one count of weapons possession and was sentenced to seven years in prison. While in prison he was allegedly targeted by inmates affiliated with the Bloods gang.
A month ago in the prison cafeteria, he narrowly missed being shanked in the back by a fellow inmate, which resulted in a fight. It was felt that Shmurda’s life was in danger because he was a star and he was placed in protective custody, also called “punk city” by prisoners. He is expected to serve out the remainder of his prison sentence in this program.
Prior to this incident, the rapper was caught passing a sharpened metal object (shank) to another prisoner in the cafeteria. This resulted in additional charges, including attempting to promote prison contraband. He appeared before a judge and pleaded guilty to the additional charges against him. Shmurda told the court that his friend, Kimberly Rousseau, transferred the weapon inside a white latex glove balloon wrapped in tape during a jail visit.
Because he pleaded guilty he could face another four years of jail time to be served concurrently with his seven-year sentence. Last year, the rapper’s mother, Leslie Pollard, said her son had been targeted for beatings, pepper sprayings and illegal lockdowns by Rikers Island guards. Shmurda is expected to be sentenced next month.
