The NBA YoungBoy jail timeline runs from a 2016 felony conviction in Baton Rouge through federal gun charges in Louisiana and California, a prescription fraud case in Utah, roughly three years of house arrest, a 23-month federal prison sentence, and a full presidential pardon in May 2025. Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, the Baton Rouge rapper who performs as NBA YoungBoy, was released from federal custody that spring and is no longer under any form of federal supervision.
2016: The Conviction That Set Everything in Motion
Gaulden’s record as a convicted felon began with a November 2016 shooting on Kentucky Street in Baton Rouge. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a firearm and was placed on probation.1The Advocate. Alleged Co-Gunman of Baton Rouge Rapper NBA YoungBoy Arrested in 2016 Drive-By Shooting That plea made him a “restricted person” under federal law, meaning he could not legally possess firearms or ammunition. Every gun charge he faced afterward flowed from that status.
2020: Baton Rouge Arrest and Federal Indictment
On September 28, 2020, Baton Rouge police responded to reports of people brandishing guns at an abandoned lot on Chippewa Street, where Gaulden was filming a music video. Officers arrested him along with 15 others and seized 14 firearms, drugs, and tens of thousands of dollars in cash.2WAFB. NBA YoungBoy Arrested in Baton Rouge on Drug Charges His attorney James Manasseh said Gaulden did not possess any of the guns or drugs and argued the searches were illegal.3WBRZ. Police Release Records, New Details in Rapper NBA YoungBoy’s Arrest
In March 2021, a federal grand jury indicted him on charges including illegal possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, naming a Masterpiece Arms 9mm handgun and a .45-caliber Glock Model 21 pistol.4Rolling Stone. NBA YoungBoy Is Getting Out of Jail U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick later dismissed a separate registration-related count “in the interest of justice.”5WBRZ. Federal Judge Dismisses Felony Gun Count Against NBA YoungBoy
2021: Los Angeles Arrest, 2022 Acquittal
While the Baton Rouge case moved toward trial, Gaulden was arrested again. On March 22, 2021, the FBI attempted a traffic stop in Los Angeles on the outstanding federal warrant. He fled on foot after a short vehicle pursuit, and a K-9 unit tracked him down. A .45-caliber FN FNX pistol was recovered from his vehicle.6Billboard. NBA YoungBoy Arrested by FBI in Los Angeles
The resulting felon-in-possession case went to trial on July 12, 2022. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner excluded Gaulden’s rap lyrics as evidence, and the defense argued he did not know the gun was in the car; his fingerprints were not on it. The jury returned a not-guilty verdict on July 15, 2022, after about five hours of deliberation.7ABC7. NBA YoungBoy Gun Trial Verdict A juror told reporters the government “didn’t have enough to solidly pin it on him.”8Rolling Stone. NBA YoungBoy Found Not Guilty in Los Angeles Gun Case
House Arrest in Utah, 2021 to 2024
The Los Angeles acquittal did not resolve the Baton Rouge case. Gaulden had spent roughly seven months in a Louisiana jail before a judge granted him release in October 2021 on $1.5 million bail.4Rolling Stone. NBA YoungBoy Is Getting Out of Jail The bail arrangement was tied to a separate courtroom deal connected to an alleged 2019 shooting in Miami, and his lawyers argued a move to Utah would be safer.9Fox 8. Pre-Trial Hearing Set for NBA YoungBoy’s Utah Case
His conditions were tight. He lived under 24-hour house arrest with court-ordered ex-military security, wore a GPS ankle monitor, faced heavy visitor restrictions, and could not tour. The private security firm enforcing the detention was being paid $21,000 per week.4Rolling Stone. NBA YoungBoy Is Getting Out of Jail He was allowed to record in a home studio. When his legal team asked in late 2023 for permission to use an outside studio, citing his mental health, Judge Dick denied that motion but slightly expanded his access to mental health treatment.10Fox 8. Judge Denies NBA YoungBoy More Studio Time, Lessens House Arrest Conditions Slightly
April 2024: Utah Prescription Fraud Arrest
House arrest did not keep Gaulden out of new trouble. Between September 2023 and February 2024, according to investigators, he and associates ran a prescription fraud operation out of his home in Huntsville, Utah, targeting pharmacies in the Logan, Hyrum, and Smithfield areas. Callers impersonated physicians using real doctors’ names and DEA credentials to order promethazine with codeine, a controlled substance used to make “lean.”11Los Angeles Times. NBA YoungBoy Never Broke Again Prescription Fraud Ring Utah Police
The callers used elderly patients’ names and birth dates, and associates picked up the prescriptions in person, sometimes in a white Chevy Tahoe registered to Gaulden. Pharmacists grew suspicious when callers could not supply basic patient details.12Fox 13 Now. Rapper NBA YoungBoy Arrested in Cache County for Unlawful Activity Investigators cited a recorded conference call in which Gaulden allegedly told his brother to ask about “the prescription that they picked up.”9Fox 8. Pre-Trial Hearing Set for NBA YoungBoy’s Utah Case
On April 16, 2024, authorities searched his home and arrested him. They recovered bottles of promethazine with codeine and a Sig Sauer P365 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which Gaulden admitted to moving despite being a restricted person.12Fox 13 Now. Rapper NBA YoungBoy Arrested in Cache County for Unlawful Activity He was booked into Cache County Jail on 63 charges, including second-degree felony counts for possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and pattern of unlawful activity, along with dozens of identity fraud, forgery, and unlawful pharmacy conduct counts.13KUTV. Rapper YoungBoy in Cache County Jail Facing Weapons, Forgery, Fraud, Drug Charges Bail was initially denied, and a federal judge in Louisiana ordered him taken into federal custody for a bond revocation hearing on the Baton Rouge case.14WTVM. Judge Orders NBA YoungBoy Be Taken Into Federal Custody Following Rapper’s Arrest
August 2024: A Second Federal Gun Case
The Sig Sauer from the April search produced a new federal charge. On August 19, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah charged Gaulden with felon in possession of a firearm. He now had two active federal gun cases, and he agreed to transfer the Louisiana matter to Utah so both could be resolved together.15WAFB. Feds File New Federal Gun Charge Against Baton Rouge Rapper NBA YoungBoy
The Global Plea Deal
In September 2024, Gaulden reached a sweeping agreement with federal prosecutors that resolved both federal gun cases and the Utah state fraud charges in one package. He signed the deal on December 10, 2024.16KUTV. Louisiana Rapper NBA YoungBoy Gets Nearly 2 Years in Jail for Gun-Related Charges
The terms:
- On the Baton Rouge federal gun case, he admitted to possessing the Glock and Masterpiece Arms firearms and received 23 months in federal prison.17The Guardian. Rapper NBA YoungBoy Prison Sentence
- On the Utah federal gun case involving the Sig Sauer, he received five years of supervised probation and a $200,000 fine.18New York Times. NBA YoungBoy Sentenced on Gun Charges
- On the Utah state fraud case, he pleaded guilty to two counts of identity fraud, two counts of forgery, and six counts of unlawful pharmacy conduct, and entered a no-contest plea on the remaining charges. Logan District Judge Spencer Walsh reduced the four felony counts to Class A misdemeanors, imposed a $25,000 fine, and sentenced him to time served.19Fox 8. NBA YoungBoy Pleads Guilty in Utah Drug Fraud Case
Federal Prison and Release
Gaulden served his 23-month sentence at FCI Talladega, a minimum-security federal prison in Alabama. By March 25, 2025, the Bureau of Prisons had transferred him to a residential reentry management office in Phoenix.20Fox 8. NBA YoungBoy Moved to Arizona Halfway House Following Federal Prison Stint His full release date was April 26, 2025.21WBRZ. Report: NBA YoungBoy Released From Federal Prison, Transferred to Arizona Facility
The May 2025 Presidential Pardon
On May 28, 2025, President Donald Trump granted Gaulden a full pardon for his federal conviction of felon in possession of a firearm.22U.S. Department of Justice. Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump His attorney Drew Findling said the pardon eliminated the five years of supervised federal probation that had been part of his sentence, including the drug-testing conditions, and brought Gaulden’s “legal saga” to an end.236ABC. Trump Pardons Rapper NBA YoungBoy With his prison term and home confinement already completed, the pardon left him free of any federal supervision.