NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper Fetty Wap has been released from federal prison to home confinement after serving just half a year of a six-year sentence for his role in a New York drug trafficking scheme.
The “Trap Queen” rapper, whose legal name is Willie Maxwell, was released from the Federal Correctional Facility in Sandstone, Minnesota, on Wednesday and transferred to community confinement overseen by a bureau office in Philadelphia, the federal Bureau of Prisons said. The agency did not disclose why he was released early or whether he was enrolled in an early release program.
The New Jersey-born rapper thanked his family, friends and fans for their support in a statement released by his publicist, Abesi Manyando. She said he was now in New Jersey, but did not say where.
He has been in custody since August 2022, and a judge revoked his $500,000 bail after prosecutors said he violated terms of his pretrial release by threatening to kill a man. He was initially arrested in October 2021, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges in August 2022, and was sentenced in May 2023 by a federal judge in Long Island, New York.
Fetty Wap and five co-defendants are accused of conspiring to possess and distribute more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine between June 2019 and June 2020. Prosecutors said they used the U.S. Postal Service and cars with hidden compartments to transport the drugs from the West Coast to Long Island, where they were stored and distributed to drug dealers on Long Island and New Jersey.
“Currently, my focus is on giving back through my community initiatives and foundation, supporting at-risk young children by expanding access to education, early technology skills, and vision care for young children and students so they can be their best selves. I am committed to moving forward with purpose and making a meaningful impact where it matters most,” the rapper said in a statement.
