Lil Zay Osama is behind bars.
via: New York Post
Isaiah Dukes – whose stage name is “Lil Zay Osama”– took the Uber with friends from a Manhattan hotel to a recording studio in Queens, according to Brooklyn federal prosecutors.
The Uber driver, “noticed that [Dukes] was holding a firearm,” and that after he was dropped off left the weapon in the car, prosecutors alleged in court papers seeking to have Dukes held without bail.
The driver called police to report the gun that was left behind and later helped them identify Dukes, prosecutors say.
The gun Dukes was carrying was a Glock 22.40 caliber pistol that had a “switch” device attached enabling it for rapid fire – like a machine gun, prosecutors claim.
And Dukes was “well aware” about what a switch device was since lyrics from his 2021 song say: “Ayy, I just got a brand new Glock with a fifty and a switch,” prosecutors say in the court papers.
“Every day a different Glock,” Duke’s lyrics say. “P–––y boy know how I play it, I hope this song right here don’t get in the hands of the feds.”
Dukes is also featured in music videos on YouTube flaunting guns, the court papers allege, including still frames from the videos.
The 25-year-old Chicago-born rapper has a criminal history including a prior weapons possession conviction in Illinois — and has two outstanding arrest warrants, prosecutors allege, arguing he’s both a flight risk and a danger to the community.
“The crimes charged in this case are extremely serious and confirm that [Dukes] is a danger to the community,” Brooklyn Assistant US Attorney Rebecca Schuman wrote in the court papers. “For one, [Dukes] possessed a particularly deadly weapon that had been converted from a handgun capable of shooting just one bullet each time the trigger is squeezed to having the capability of firing until the trigger is lifted.”
Schuman added that even though Dukes has multiple prior arrests and a weapons possession conviction, “he has not been deterred from such conduct.”
Dukes is charged with possession of a machine gun and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on both counts.
Brooklyn federal court Judge Ramon Reyes Jr. Friday ordered Dukes to be held without bail.
His criminal defense attorney didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
