Lil Wayne Tour Bus Shooter Receives 20-Year Sentence
Jimmy Carlton Winfrey plead guilty for shooting Lil Wayne’s tour bus and received a 20-year sentence. (WENN)
by Daniel Kreps
The man charged in connection with the April incident where multiple gunshots were fired at Lil Wayne’s tour buses in Atlanta has pleaded guilty to the shooting. Jimmy Carlton Winfrey was sentenced to 20 years – 10 in prison followed by 10 on probation – after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors. Winfrey was initially indicted on 30 counts stemming from the April shooting, but as per the deal, he only pleaded guilty to six gang-related charges, TMZ reports.
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No one was injured in the incident. Winfrey is the only one so far to face charges for the April 26th shooting, even though Cash Money CEO Bryan “Birdman” Williams and rapper Young Thug were named as Winfrey’s associates. The shooting occurred just months after Lil Wayne’s very public beef with Cash Money, his longtime label, an acrimonious split that resulted in Wayne suing the label for $51 million in January. Birdman denied any involvement.
In the State of Georgia’s indictment against Winfrey in July, prosecutors claimed the Young Thug associate opened fire on the tour buses and then attempted to hide the Camaro he was driving at the time. The indictment noted that, five days before the shooting, Young Thug posted an Instagram video that appeared to threaten Lil Wayne; Winfrey and weapons were seen in that video. Similarly, the video for Young Thug’s “Halftime" features Winfrey toting an assault rifle that was similar to the firearm used in the tour bus shooting.
After the shooting, Winfrey placed a call to a cell phone owned by Birdman. The indictment spans 30 counts, including aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm and violations of both the RICO Act and Street Gang Terrorism Prevention Act. According to police, Winfrey orchestrated the shooting in order to gain "street cred,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. Winfrey will be eligible for parole.
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