Bobby Shmurda, Sentenced to 7 Years, Tells Court He Was “Forced” to Cop Plea

Almost two years ago, Bobby Shmurda was arrested on gang conspiracy and gun and drug charges. He pleaded not guilty and was held on a $2 million bond. In September, he took a plea deal offered by New York City prosecutors, accepting a seven-year prison sentence. Today, Shmurda (real name: Ackquille Pollard) officially received his sentence in Manhattan Supreme Court, and he spoke out against the plea deal before the judge, Billboard reports. “I was forced to take this sentence, I did not want to take this sentence,” Shmurda said in court. “I was forced by my attorney to take this plea.” He appeared apart from co-defendants Chad “Rowdy Rebel” Marshall and Nicholas McCoy.

The prosecution’s plea deal cut the maximum prison terms for Shmurda, Rowdy, and McCoy down from 15 years. Under the deal, the defendants also give up the right to appeal. Including time served, Shmurda’s sentencing today would have him on track for release in 2021.

Shmurda’s lawyer Alex Spiro had requested a delay of the official sentencing. In court today, as Judge Abraham Clott declined to adjourn, Shmurda reportedly said, “They lied to me.” Shmurda’s mother, Leslie Pollard, told Billboard after the hearing: “It’s heartbreaking. It’s disappointing… The judge doesn’t know my son. He doesn’t care.” She added that she hadn’t known about the plea deal until after Shmurda took it. She said, “It was a whole setup.” 

Shortly after taking the plea deal, Shmurda told Complex that he took the deal for the sake of his co-defendant Rowdy. He also said he would have won if he had been able to make bail. “We look guilty in these orange jump suits,” Shmurda said. “If you put Al Sharpton in a orange jumpsuit and accuse him of having a gun, he’s going to be found guilty. They just look at our skin color, and look at where we’re from. I didn’t get caught with anything on me and the cops lied, saying they seen me with a gun in my hand. I explained the whole situation to [Shmurda's record label] Epic and they were behind me all the way. We had big-money lawyers and they still couldn’t do nothing because of the judge, who looked at us like black thugs.”

Spiro, Shmurda’s lawyer, reportedly told the court, “My client is clearly frustrated.” Of the interview remarks, Spiro said: “I can’t fault him for those. I understand why my client is frustrated.”

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