Baton Rouge’s most notorious trap rapper, NBA YoungBoy, has had an eventful year. Over the span of about 16 months, he went from gearing up for a long-awaited trial in a federal gun case to being indicted on dozens of charges as part of a large-scale prescription pill scam in Utah to pleading guilty separately in both cases.
After spending years on house arrest in his sprawling Salt Lake City estate, the 25-year-old rapper found himself in Utah state jails, federal lockups, and biding his time in an Arizona halfway house.
Those travails were all but forgotten Wednesday when President Donald Trump included YoungBoy, whose legal name is Kentrell Gaulden, among a slate of pardons he signed. The president granted Gaulden clemency in his federal case, setting him free from federal custody. Gaulden had been in Utah serving out the remaining portions of his probation as he prepared to go on tour later this year.
The path to pardon was one with a number of twists and turns. Here is a look at some of NBA YoungBoy’s brushes with the law over the years:
Nov. 2, 2016: Gaulden fired gunshots at two men in the 2000 block of Kentucky Street. He was 16 at the time, but East Baton Rouge prosecutors charged him as an adult with two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
May 22, 2017: Gaulden pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated assault with a firearm as part of a plea deal.
Aug. 22, 2017: Gaulden received a 10-year prison sentence suspended to three years of probation. The felony conviction meant he could no longer own or possess a firearm.
Sept. 28, 2020: Baton Rouge police arrested Gaulden and 15 others after finding guns stashed at a YoungBoy video shoot near his grandfather’s Chippewa Street home. He was charged with being a felon unlawfully in possession of a gun and the case was, at some point, transferred to federal court for prosecution.
March 22, 2021: FBI agents arrested Gaulden in the Los Angeles area on the federal indictment from the Baton Rouge gun case. He picked up new weapons charges after authorities said they found a .45-caliber Glock and 12 rounds of ammo in the car Gaulden was in.
Oct. 22, 2021: U.S. District Court Judge Shelly Dick granted Gaulden bail and allowed him to remain on house arrest while he awaited trial in his Baton Rouge gun case.
July 15, 2022: A jury acquitted Gaulden of a felon in possession charge stemming from the California arrest.
April 16, 2024: Deputies in Cache County, Utah, arrest Gaulden on more than 60 felony charges for his role in a “large-scale prescription fraud ring.” Authorities said Gaulden and others pretended to be medical professionals and called in prescriptions to Utah pharmacies, sometimes disguising their voices.
Aug. 19, 2024: Gaulden consented to a felon in possession plea deal and agreed to have his Baton Rouge case moved to a federal court in Utah.
Nov. 18, 2024: Gaulden pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud and forgery tied to the prescription drug scheme. He was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine, but not sentenced to any jail time as part of the plea deal.
Dec. 10, 2024: Gaulden was sentenced to 23 months in federal lockup and fined $200,000 in the federal gun case. A judge also placed him on five years of probation upon his release.
May 28, 2025: President Donald Trump pardoned Gaulden’s federal sentence.