Rap artist NBA YoungBoy arrested in Utah on various drug, weapons charges
Apr 17, 2024, 10:19 AM | Updated: Jul 1, 2024, 6:25 am
CACHE COUNTY, Utah — Rap artist NBA YoungBoy was arrested in northern Utah for investigation of multiple drug and weapons charges.
The rapper, whose given name is Kentrell Gaulden, was booked into the Cache County Jail for investigation of identity fraud, forgery and pattern of unlawful activity, both third-degree felonies; possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; and misdemeanor drug possession.
The Cache County Sheriff’s Office said it executed a search warrant at Gaulden’s residence, with assistance from with Homeland Security, Ogden police, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, the Box Elder and Cache/Rich drug task forces, the Secret Service and Layton SWAT.
“This search warrant is a piece of an ongoing investigation into criminal conduct,” CCSO Lt. Mikelshan Bartschi said. “Due to the complexity of the investigation we will not be releasing any additional details concerning the investigation.”
Gaulden was YouTube’s top-streamed hip-hop artist in 2023 and the platform’s second-most streamed artist. He rose to national acclaim as a teenager in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but his success has been fraught with violence and drama.
According to the Associated Press, Gaulden was given three years’ probation in 2017 for aggravated assault with a firearm in a nonfatal Baton Rouge shooting. While on probation, he was arrested following his involvement in a Miami shootout on Mother’s Day 2019 that left a bystander dead.
In 2020, he was Gaulden was among 16 people arrested while filming a music video in Baton Rouge on various charges, including distribution and manufacturing of drugs and possession of stolen firearms.
In October 2021, a judge permitted him to serve house arrest in Salt Lake City at the request of his lawyers. He listed the 8,800-square-foot home on the market in February for $5.5 million.
