Rapper Fetty Wap faces at least 5 years in prison for drugs

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. -- Rapper Fetty Wap pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances.

The artist, whose real name is Willie Junior Maxwell II, now faces a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.

A New York judge did not immediately set a sentencing date.

Fetty Wap did not make a request to be released on bond and remains in custody.

His previous bond was revoked earlier this month after he allegedly displayed a gun and threatened to kill someone during a December FaceTime call, according to federal prosecutors.

The 30-year-old rapper was indicted last September for conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl on Long Island.

He was released on a $500,000 bond at the time but was re-arrested after he allegedly violated the terms on the FaceTime call, in which prosecutors say he threatened to kill the person on the other end of the phone. That person was identified in court papers as "John Doe."

"According to John Doe, the FaceTime call occurred on December 11, 2021," an affidavit sworn by FBI special agent Derek Wonderland said. "And in the call, the defendant possessed a gun, threatened to kill him, and called an individual a 'rat,' despite the fact that this was a direct violation of both state law and the conditions of his release."

The FBI obtained a video recording of the FaceTime call, in which Fetty Wap "is shown holding a gun and pointing it towards John Doe," according to the affidavit.

"The defendant then says to John Doe, 'Imma kill you and everybody you with,' which he then repeats one more time," the affidavit reads. "The defendant then continues to threaten John Doe, saying 'I'm gonna kill you,' a threat which he repeats several more times throughout the video call."

Maxwell and five co-defendants were accused of conspiring to possess and distribute more than 220 pounds of heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine between June 2019 and June 2020.

The scheme allegedly involved using the U.S. Postal Service and cars with hidden compartments to move drugs from the West Coast to Long Island, where they were stored for distribution to dealers on Long Island and in New Jersey, prosecutors said.

Maxwell rose to prominence after "Trap Queen," his debut single, reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 2015.

He has had other brushes with the law, including a 2019 arrest in Las Vegas for allegedly assaulting three employees at a hotel-casino. He was previously arrested in November 2017 and charged with DUI after police said he was drag racing on a New York City highway.