Today (Jan. 29) marks the first courtroom phase for Bobby Shmurda and his GS9 crew, as the rappers face a New York City judge in a hearing to enter pleas in their respective cases.
According to XXL, Shmurda, as well as his associate Rowdy Rebel, plead not guilty to charges stemming from their Dec. 17 arrest. Shmurda was indicted for conspiracy to commit 2nd degree murder, conspiracy to commit 2nd degree assault, as well as other weapons and narcotics related charges while the ‘Computers’ rapper was charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy.
Other GS9 members also entering a plea of not guilty include Santino “Cueno” Boderick, Remy “Fetti” Marshall, Rashid, “Rasha” Derissant, Brian “Meeshie” Harvey, Deshain “Mitch” Cockette and Alex “A-Rod” Crandon. Cueno is reportedly accused by the state of being the ring leader in many of the shootings.
Each person, a total of 15, gave their not guilty plea to Judge James Burke, while their lawyers attempted to lower bail. However, the judge refused and would not consider the request until the next court date on April 22.
There were about 50 people in the courtroom including family, friends, reporters and curious folks.
The drama for the crew came right smack dab in the middle of Shmurda’s meteoric rise to fame, as his ubiquitous song ‘Hot N—-’ quickly took him from unknown rapper to global superstar. But all of that was abruptly halted on Dec. 17, when the crew was arrested outside of Quad Studios in New York. They were hit with 69 charges, including murder, attempted murder, narcotic sales and a host of others.
Shmurda, whose bail is currently set at $2 million, is facing 25 years to life in prison. He recently had a gun charge dropped as part of a formality so it can be included when the Special Narcotics team brings their case to court.
See 10 Most Shocking Arrests in Hip-Hop