Birdman, Young Thug Named in Lil Wayne Shooting Indictment
The State of Georgia has indicted an associate of Young Thug and Birdman‘s for shooting at Lil Wayne’s tour buses this past April. Jimmy Carlton Winfrey, who is known by the names Pee Wee and Roscoe and has worked as Young Thug’s tour manager, raced up alongside Lil Wayne‘s tour buses, opened fire and subsequently attempted to hide the Camaro he was driving, according to the indictment obtained by Rolling Stone. The indictment spans 30 counts, including aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm and violation of both the RICO Act and Street Gang Terrorism Prevention Act.
The indictment opens by identifying Winfrey, Young Thug, Birdman and Lil Wayne as Blood gang members, claiming that the defendant is a high-ranking member in the Young Slime Life subset of the Bloods. It also details the schism at Cash Money Records pitting Lil Wayne against Birdman and Young Thug. Because Winfrey is the only defendant, it also places emphasis on his appearance in Young Thug’s “Halftime” video, in which Winfrey is seen holding an assault rifle that looks like the one used in April.
The majority of the legal document’s “background” section explains the events of April 26th, the day of the bus shooting. It claims that five days before the shooting, Young Thug posted a video to Instagram making gang references and threats to Lil Wayne; Winfrey and weapons were both visible in the video. On the night of the incident, Young Thug was booed offstage at a New Orleans gig to chants of Lil Wayne’s name, with Wayne performing the same night in Atlanta; the papers allege that Winfrey and other Blood associates began organizing their attack around the time Lil Wayne hit the stage. The authorities, which noticed Winfrey’s activation, decided to escort Lil Wayne’s tour buses out of Atlanta.
That’s when, the indictment claims, Winfrey trailed the convoy and sidled up next to the buses, opening fire with two handguns into both buses. Winfrey later called a phone owned by Birdman, according to the papers, and hid his car. “On April 26th, Jimmy Winfrey carried out [Young Thug’s] threat [in the “Halftime” video] and shot at two tour buses,” the indictment claims.
The paperwork also greatly details Lil Wayne’s attempt to leave Birdman’s Cash Money label, the delays on his Carter V album and Young Thug’s decision to rename his album Carter 6 to Barter 6 (“Blood gang members often change words that start with ‘C’ into words that start with the letter ‘B,'” it says). It also alleges Young Thug and Birdman aligned in the wake of Lil Wayne filing a lawsuit to dissolve his Cash Money contract.
Winfrey is due in court Friday morning for a bond hearing.
A representative for Young Thug declined to comment. Representatives for Birdman and Lil Wayne did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Young Thug had previously wanted to name his album Carter 6 in tribute to Lil Wayne, after the latter rapper claimed it would be his final album, according to The Guardian. But the rappers appeared to fall out with one another last year when Lil Wayne tried to sever his ties with Cash Money; subsequently, Birdman made appearances on Barter 6.
In an unrelated incident, Young Thug was arrested Wednesday for making “terroristic threats,” with U.S. Marshals claiming the rapper threatened to shoot an Atlanta mall security officer in the face.