SAN DIEGO (CN) — In a felony gun possession case that’s ricocheted from state to federal court in San Diego, rapper Boosie Badazz asked a judge to modify the conditions of his release on Friday to allow him to make contact with his fiancée after spending months apart.
“We vehemently oppose that,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Wheat.
When asked by U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo, an Obama appointee, to explain why the government is so opposed, Wheat said that they have security concerns.
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, rapper, born Torrence Hatch Jr. and previously known as Lil Boosie, has been ordered to not make contact with his fiancée since the beginning of his federal trial in June 2023, his attorney Damon Alimouri said.
Hatch appeared in court over the phone in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California Friday.
“This seems like a fairly serious curtailment of his rights,” Bencivengo said, considering that Hatch’s fiancée is not a witness in the case and was not in California during the rapper's May 2023 arrest.
“It’s vague, unless we have some details to fill the gaps,” Alimouri said, because the government hasn’t shared what information it has to suspect Hatch’s fiancée is a security concern.
To explain the government’s position, Wheat requested a sidebar with Bencivengo. After a lengthy conversation, during which the court played white noise to prevent the opposing counsel and the public from hearing what was being discussed, she imposed another 60 days of the stay-away order.
If there are no other objections from the government once those 60 days are up, the stay-away order will lapse and Hatch’s motion to end it will be granted.
Later on in the hearing, Hatch asked Bencivengo if the order would affect plans he had to get married in April.
“Boosie, I suggest that you remain silent and not say anything on the record,” Alimouri said.
Hatch initially faced charges for being a felon in possession of a firearm in San Diego County Superior Court after he was arrested in a traffic stop where police said they found him and a companion with two loaded handguns in their car.
According to prosecutors, a San Diego police officer was watching an Instagram Live video of what they described as a local gang member when they spotted Hatch, and the handle of a pistol in his waistband.
Hatch was in San Diego to perform and shoot a music video.
That charge was dismissed in June 2023, but after Hatch exited the courtroom, he was arrested by federal agents and handed an identical charge in federal court.
The timing of the federal charge, and why the case was transferred from state to federal court, also came under discussion at Friday’s hearing.
Alimouri claimed that he was told by a state prosecutor that they would not even consider agreeing to a plea deal that would have kept Hatch out of jail, even though a judge had offered one, because of social media videos showing Hatch leading his audience at his concert in town in a chant of “fuck San Diego Police.”
Hatch’s attorneys asked the government to produce records of written communications between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office relating to the case to try to demonstrate that claim.
“There’s nothing I see that would support that,” Bencivengo said.
“I doubt that would be put in writing,” Alimouri retorted, which Bencivengo agreed with.
Hatch’s defense hasn’t yet filed a motion alleging prosecutorial vindictiveness, though Alimouri said they were open to it.
“The court finds nothing there to claim that this is vindictive,” Bencivengo said. “It’s a legitimate case in federal court.”
Another status hearing in the case is set for mid-February.
Hatch, known for his bluesy Southern drawl and his pain-soaked lyrics chronicling the struggle to overcome poverty, systemic injustices afflicting Black Americans and the criminal justice system, is one of rap music’s most influential and celebrated artists.
Hatch has had several prior run-ins with the law in Louisiana and Georgia.
In 2009, Hatch pleaded guilty to a charge of marijuana and gun possession in Louisiana. In 2011, Hatch pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle drugs into prison, which added more time to his previous sentence. Hatch was also arrested in 2019 in Georgia on gun and drug possession charges.
In 2012, Hatch was acquitted in a 2009 murder case in Louisiana.
“I honestly think this prosecution is overblown and exaggerated,” Alimouri said after the hearing. “And this wouldn’t have gone on for so long if Boosie wasn’t Boosie.”
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