Brooklyn drill rappers Sheff G (born Michael Williams) and Sleep Hallow (born Tegan Chambers) was indicted along with 30 other alleged members of the 8 Trey Crips and the associated 9 Ways gang. The two men were charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Of the 32 defendants, 24 are in custody and arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court today; if convicted, Sheff G faces up to 25 years in prison. Pitchfork has reached out to his attorney and representatives for comment.
Prosecutors accused Sheff G of offering money and jewelry in exchange for “acts of violence,” including murder, presenting video evidence from cell phones and surveillance cameras, text messages, and property searches. The indictment describes an incident where the rapper allegedly gathered three gunmen and drove them to and from the crime scene. On the other hand, on October 21, 2020, surveillance video captured the suspects firing from a white car at alleged members of the Folk Nation gang, killing one and injuring five others.
Prosecutors allege that Sheff G and his sister Crystal Williams conspired with the shooters to kill, and treated a group of nine people—including Sleepy Hallow—at dinner at a Manhattan steakhouse as one reward for doing shooting in Folk Nation. “This is not an indictment of rap music,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzales said today at a press conference. “In fact, this investigation does not rely on a single lyric to prove any of the alleged crimes.”
Sheff G is currently in prison, having been sentenced to two years in prison plead guilty to criminal possession of a firearm in the second degree in November 2021. He was arrested in January after police stopped him and found a loaded gun in his car. Sheff G should have been eligible for release in June.
Sheff G is one of Brooklyn’s five drill rappers removed from the lineup of Rolling Loud New York in 2019 at the request of the NYPD, citing safety concerns.