Brooklyn DA says the rapper used music earnings to fund shootings; he’s sentenced to five years plus five years’ supervision.
Brooklyn — Michael Williams, the 27-year-old rapper known as Sheff G, was sentenced Wednesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court to five years in state prison after pleading guilty in March to two counts of second-degree attempted murder and one count of second-degree conspiracy.
He will also serve five years of post-release supervision following his term.
According to Entertainment weekly Prosecutors say Williams used earnings from his music career to finance gang violence across Brooklyn. According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, investigators relied on surveillance video, text messages and social-media posts to build their case — alleging that Williams paid members of his crew to fire on and kill rival gang members and that he once acted as a getaway driver during a shooting.
Authorities say one of the victims was 23-year-old Theodore Senior.
“These defendant had talent and opportunity, but chose to use them to fuel violence instead of building a better future,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a post-sentencing release. “Together with the NYPD, we have driven gun violence in Brooklyn to record lows by focusing on dangerous individuals, like Mr. Williams and his cohorts.
I can only hope that this measure of accountability will lead him to taking a different path and using his influence in a positive manner.”
Williams’ case is one part of a sweeping indictment unsealed in May that contained some 140 counts and named 32 members of two gangs. The indictment charged defendants with a range of offenses, including shootings, illegal possession of firearms and using stolen vehicles in attacks, according to prosecutors.
The sentencing drew renewed attention because Williams briefly appeared onstage with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in the Bronx on May 23, 2024. Video and photographs from the event show Trump handling Williams’ heavy gold chains and passing him the microphone.
At the rally Williams told the crowd, “One thing I want to say, they’re always going to whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures. Trump will shout the wins for all of us.”
The White House did not immediately provide a comment to media requests about the sentencing; an automated reply referenced staffing shortages and criticized Democrats over a funding dispute.
The case has rippled through New York’s hip-hop community: fellow Brooklyn drill artist Sleepy Hallow, who also appeared at the May campaign event, was sentenced last week by the same judge to one year in jail after pleading guilty to a fourth-degree conspiracy charge.
Prosecutors say the convictions and sentences are part of a broader effort to hold violent actors accountable and curb gun crime in the borough.
