Rapper Fetty Wap pleads guilty to conspiracy drug charge

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Associated Press

Aug. 22, 2022 12:07 PM PT

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Rapper Fetty Wap pleaded guilty Monday to a conspiracy drug charge that carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence.

The plea in Central Islip on Long Island came before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke, who had revoked the rapper’s bond and sent him to jail two weeks ago. No sentencing date was immediately set.

Locke took that step after prosecutors said that Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, threatened to kill a man during a FaceTime call in 2021, violating the terms of his pretrial release in his drug case.

The “Trap Queen” rapper was initially arrested last October on charges alleging he participated in a conspiracy to smuggle large amounts of heroin, fentanyl and other drugs into the New York City area.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances, the top charge in an indictment against him. It carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison; federal sentencing guidelines are likely to recommend additional years in prison.

Maxwell and five co-defendants were accused of conspiring to possess and distribute more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine between June 2019 and June 2020.

The scheme allegedly involved using the U.S. Postal Service and cars with hidden compartments to move drugs from the West Coast to Long Island, where they were stored for distribution to dealers on Long Island and in New Jersey, prosecutors said.

Maxwell rose to prominence after “Trap Queen,” his debut single, reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 2015.