ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 11: Rapper Pooh Shiesty performs onstage during 2021 Shiesty Season Spring Fest at Central Station on April 11, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Authorities in Dallas say Pooh Shiesty was taken into custody earlier this month at a residence tied to his family. This has set off a new phase in an already complex federal case. Prosecutors allege he and several associates carried out what they describe as an “armed takeover” of a recording studio. They say this was in an attempt to break from his deal with 1017 Records. According to the government’s account, the confrontation escalated to a point where Gucci Mane was allegedly coerced into signing a contract release. The allegations remain unproven in court. However, they have become central to the prosecution’s narrative.

In a recent conversation on Law & Crime’s Sidebar with Jesse Weber, defense attorney Bradford Cohen pushed back on one of the government’s more detailed claims. Prosecutors have suggested Shiesty visited a Staples store shortly before the incident to print documents tied to the alleged plan. Cohen disputed that interpretation and offered a more routine explanation for the printing activity. “I don’t even care if they’re at Staples,” he explained. “They are going to a recording studio. Normally, my clients usually print off the lyrics for different individuals. If you have five individuals that are going to be on one record, and they each have a section or a part, they’ll usually print those things off.” He added, “We have to create the defense and create a way to make sure that [the government] is held to their burden. So, it doesn’t matter what they say. It matters what they have.”

Cohen Questions Evidence in Shiesty Case

Cohen has also challenged the broader evidentiary foundation of the case, arguing that key physical proof has not been presented publicly. “The FBI doesn’t take three months to arrest someone if they believe everything that was said on the night that it occurred,” he said. “They were involved the first night, and then nothing happened for three months.”

He continued to question the completeness of the investigation, pointing to alleged gaps in documentation. “I’m just shocked that when they say there might be video out there — they don’t have it,” he said. “There might be this mystery contract — they don’t have it.” Shiesty remains charged with kidnapping and robbery, allegations that carry the possibility of a life sentence if he is convicted.