The man who used to be rapper Safaree’s childhood friend has been sentenced for masterminding a robbery of the “Love and Hip Hop Hollywood” star at gunpoint in New York in 2018.
The judge hammered Safaree’s former buddy Shawn Harewood with an 18 year prison sentence for pointing a gun in Safaree’s face and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. Harewood and his companions then led authorities on a long police chase across the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey to New York. Harewood’s car then crashed and the three men fled on foot before being caught by the NYPD.
Harewood’s cousin Tacuma Ashman got a 25-year sentence for two counts of first-degree robbery, weapons possession, and resisting arrest. Ashman’s friend Carl Harry pled guilty to a conspiracy charge in 2019 and got a 364-day sentence and five years of probation.
Prosecutors said that Harewood was the mastermind behind the robbery and recruited his cousin and friend to participate.
Before sentencing, Harewood issued a statement of apology to the court to “all involved,” saying he’s “not proud of” the “bad decisions” he made. “These moments do not define me, and they’re not reflective of me,” Harewood continued, according to NorthJersey.com.
Immediately following that harrowing experience, Safaree broke down and sobbed while being interviewed by radio show star Angie Martinez.
“I just got robbed at gunpoint, two dudes, two guns just ran up on me, laid me face down on the floor with two guns at my head,” he said.
Safaree clapped back when rap fans and T.I. reportedly made fun of him for crying about the robbery, saying that he lost an uncle to a similar incident.
Seeing your life flash b4 you're eyes is a life changing experience. Nothing funny about it. It's probably only funny to ppl who don't have anything or never experienced it. My uncle was killed in a robbery so when thinking about my situation all I think about is him.
— @IAMSAFAREE (@IAMSAFAREE) April 4, 2018
Safaree then elaborated on what he was thinking while his face was against the pavement.
I'm not crying over lost jewelry, that's material but being face and not knowing if you're about to get shot in the back of your head is the most traumatic thing I've ever had to deal with.Thank God I'm still alive they want me broken but All they did was make a beast out of me!!
— @IAMSAFAREE (@IAMSAFAREE) April 4, 2018
