Rising rapper Bobby Shmurda was a “driving force” behind a gang accused of murder, violence and the sale of narcotics from Brooklyn to South Beach, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
Ackquille Pollard — aka Bobby Shmurda, aka “Chewy” — was busted with two other hip hop artists and 12 alleged gangbangers for their role in a massive drug and firearm ring, several brazen public shootings and the murder of a 19-year-old rival, authorities said.
“Ackquille is the driving force behind the GS9 gang,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Nigel Farinha in Manhattan Supreme Court, where the crew was arraigned on murder, attempted murder, assault and drug dealing raps. “He is also a violent enforcer of the gang’s activity. He’s a drug dealer, and a prolific one at that.”
Shmurda, 21, who is signed to Epic Records, a subsidiary label of Sony Music, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, weapon possession and drug dealing raps.
Justice James Burke set bail at $2 million for Shmurda and Chad Marshall, aka “Rowdy Rebel,” who is also signed to Epic Records.
Despite the serious allegations, the label is standing behind the artists and helped to retain their lawyers.
The company is also scrambling to arrange their bail though high-profile bondsman Ira Judelson, according to law enforcement sources.
The East Flatbush-based gang used code in their conversations, like “socks” for firearms and “suntan” for shooting someone, authorities said.
The “Hot N-gga” rapper, whose 2014 single shot to No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, was caught on wiretaps confessing to his brother Javase Pollard, aka “Fame,” “You know I suntan him and shot, do issues, you know what’s going on.”
In another call, Shmurda told his pal that he was packing two guns. “I am two socks Bobby right now,” he bragged.
The alleged gang leader’s lawyer, Howard Greenberg, defended his client’s conversations. “These guys … have a constitutional right to talk stupid on the phone,” he said.
Even Shmurda’s own brother, Javase Pollard, wasn’t immune to his violent rage, court papers show.
When the siblings got into a fight, the hit rapper whipped out a gun and shot at him — “shattering the glass in the barbershop,” court papers state.
Greenberg, who represents Shmurda and his brother, claimed his clients were being targeted because of a bias against rap.
“The government hates rap and by extension hates rappers. If his name was Joe Blow, they would have given him a DAT or cut him loose from the precinct,” he said.
“My guy has the world in the palm of his hands. He needs to commit crimes like I need to fly the space shuttle.”
The indictment was the product of a two-year probe conducted by the NYPD’s Brooklyn South Violence Reduction Task Force and the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Gang Unit.
The gang’s violence was so prevalent that it turned Brooklyn into a shooting gallery, prosecutors said.
In a playful moment, Greenberg noted that although he couldn’t perform the “Shmoney Dance” featured on Shmurda’s music video, he did “know how to count that Shmoney.”