Southern rapper Plies has reportedly been sued over a 2006 Florida nightclub shooting.
According to reports, the lawsuit was filed in court today.
Five victims of a 2006 Gainesville nightclub shooting have sued Tampa rapper Plies and the record label he formed. The lawsuit, filed in Alachua County Circuit Court Wednesday, claims they have increased gangsta rap credibility and profited from the victims' suffering. Plies' entourage allegedly shot in the club after a scuffle with another rapper. Plies was arrested after weapons were allegedly found in his car. The victims didn't suffer life-threatening injuries.
The 2006 shooting also involved Plies' brother, Ronell "Big Gates" Levatte.
Plies pleaded no contest to illegal possession of concealed weapon and served no prison time after the club shootings. Levatte served three years in prison after pleading no contest to weapons charges. Two other members of the Plies entourage, who were not named in the civil suit, also served prison time on charges related to the Gainesville club shooting. The plaintiffs' lawyers say the rapper makes references to the shooting in his lyrics and has generally used it to promote his street cred.
Plies' brother was arrested shortly after the incident took place.
Gates has been serving time in Florida due to his alleged involvement with a shooting incident at a 2006 Plies and Lil Boosie show in Gainesville, Florida. He was charged with six counts of attempted murder. Firearms were found in the vehicle he was driving, which was registered in his name and he was a convicted felon already. According to Gates, after being confronted with 90 witnesses the state planned to call at his trial, he took a plea agreement of 3 years and although he has now been released, still will remain "heavily monitored" for several months.
After serving a three-year sentence, Gates was freed last April.
"I thank everybody that continued to pray for my situation with my brother," Plies said in an interview. "I had a chance to go down to Coleman correctional facility and see him walk out. That meant everything to me. I haven't had a chance to enjoy an Easter with him over the course of the last three years...It's a lot of pain and struggle that they go through. My new vow that I made to myself is that regardless of my situation and my fame, [rapping about the penile system] that's something that's always gonna be a part of me and my responsibility to do everything I can to make sure that those people's voices behind those walls live on. I'll always be a representation of them."
No further details have been revealed as of now.
No comments:
Post a Comment