The 'Fresh Out Retirement' rapper gets a hefty prison sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Paul Grimm one year after he's caught with a gun and drugs during an investigation.
- December 2, 2021
AceShowbiz - Rapper YGG Tay is about to spend a long time behind bars. The "Fresh Out Retirement" spitter has been sentenced to a mandatory federal prison term of 15 years for drug trafficking and gun charges.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Grimm sentenced the 27-year-old hip-hop artist on Tuesday, November 30 after he was convicted by a jury in August on drug and gun charges. When appearing in court, the Baltimore rapper wore an orange jumpsuit.
Prosecutors argued Tay, whose real name is Davante Harrison, was "a calculated high-level dealer" who was usually on his toes but made a mistake in November 2019 when agents discovered drugs and a Glock handgun with an extended magazine while serving a search warrant. Investigators had been on his trail for years, but he'd always maintained his innocence.
"There has been a lot of rumor and innuendo raised by the government," Tay's defense attorney Natalie Finegar said. "The evidence only covered a very narrow role of a relatively small operation in Baltimore City."
However, prosecutors argued, "Unfortunately, even after being the victim of a shooting, he took no pause in furthering the drug trade in and around Baltimore." They also noted agents found 3.2 grams of mixed heroin and fentanyl and eight grams of fentanyl in the center console of his vehicle.
Tay's defense attorneys told jurors even though the rapper was caught with a gun and drugs, there was no evidence he was part of a distribution conspiracy. As attorney John Cox said after the verdict, "The evidence showed he was a purchaser of narcotics, not a distributor."
Both of Tay's attorneys said their client has struggled with substance abuse throughout his "young adult-life plagued by his significant addiction to opioids such as oxycodone, codeine and heroin." The "Rich Before Rap 2" artist's legal team also explained in a sentencing memorandum, "His phone contains copious outgoing messages to various contacts for Percocet, often gathering a limited supply from multiple sources then repeating the process the following day."
