DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Separate charges against rapper Bobby Shmurda were merged into one case on Tuesday when the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor took over a case from the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.
Shmurda, whose real name is Ackquille Pollard, faced four gun charges stemming from a June arrest as well as drug charges from another bust in December.
The East Flatbush rapper, who's accused of being a central figure in a street gang called GS9, did not speak during his brief appearance in Brooklyn Supreme Court. He wore a dark gray sweatsuit, black sneakers and handcuffs.
Shmurda's attorney, Kenneth Montgomery, said moving the charges out of Brooklyn doesn’t make a difference to his client, other than to streamline the process “in the sense that you’re not fighting two cases in two different places,” he said.
But he railed against all the charges brought against Shmurda, especially those that allege he is a “gang leader.”
“This is a glorified case and they have to follow their cheese. This is what we’re fighting,” he said.
He added that Shmurda is still looking for help to make his $2 million bail — an “absolutely ridiculous" number, the lawyer said — and is awaiting trial at the Manhattan Detention Complex, or the Tombs, in Downtown Manhattan.
“Just like he was surviving where he grew up at, he’s surviving now in the Manhattan Tombs,” Montgomery said.
Shmurda's next court appearance will be on April 22 in Manhattan.
