Ahead of his sentencing on Friday after pleading guilty to a federal gun charge, veteran Louisiana rapper Boosie Badazz is seeking zero prison time. Instead, he wants to be sentenced to two years of structured probation and 300 hours of community service, Rolling Stone reported.
Boosie, who is an ex-convict, found himself on the wrong side of the law in San Diego in May 2023 after police pulled over a car he was riding in and found firearms inside. The 43-year-old later pleaded guilty to a felon-in-possession charge.
The Wipe Me Down rapper, born Torence Ivy Hatch Jr., and his lawyer, Meghan Blanco, filed a new sentencing memo on Monday to argue their case. They argue that Boosie deciding to be armed “reflects a lapse in judgment rather than ongoing criminal behavior.” They said that Boosie erred after “an approximately ten-year gap between his prior criminal conduct.”
RELATED STORIES
“The offense conduct was limited, nonviolent, and isolated,” his new filing, which was obtained by Rolling Stone, states. “Mr. Hatch did not discharge a firearm or cause harm. No victim was identified, and the government has not alleged that the firearms were used in connection with any other criminal activity or broader criminal scheme.”
On Friday, federal prosecutors in their sentencing memo requested for Boosie to be handed a two-year prison sentence. Prosecutors and Boosie, however, state that his decision to enter a guilty plea in August 2025 and his negative childhood experiences serve as mitigating factors.
“Defendant has clearly demonstrated acceptance of responsibility,” prosecutors wrote. “[Hatch] had a difficult upbringing, which likely contributed to his current predicament.”
Federal prosecutors in San Diego stated that though Boosie had an “extensive criminal history including prior convictions for resisting arrest, battery, assault, illegal carrying of a firearm, drug trafficking offenses, possession of narcotics, and bringing narcotics into a penitentiary,” his gun case had zero identifiable victims.
“He has also been gainfully employed for many years and has continued to work throughout the pendency of this case. These factors weigh in favor of a variance,” prosecutors added.
Boosie, in his sentencing memo, implies that he was armed in California because he wanted to protect himself, as he was a shooting victim in Texas, per Rolling Stone. The filing says that the Texas shooting “understandably heightened his sense of vulnerability and personal safety.” His filing also describes him as “a man who rose from extraordinary adversity, contributed meaningfully to his community, and has taken responsibility for a serious but isolated lapse in judgment.”
Boosie seeking zero prison time came after he took to X last August to announce that he had accepted a plea deal from the federal government.
“Just accepted a plea deal from the federal government on my gun case. I thought this case was over n I was going to get on with my life but ‘God don’t make mistakes’ n I’m tired of fighting,” he wrote at the time. “Talked to my family n this is the right decision. To all my fans across the world say a prayer for ya boy n go get the new album.”
