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LOGAN — A judge on Thursday agreed to set bail for Louisiana rapper NBA Youngboy, who has been held in the Cache County Jail since his arrest in April on charges ofo what police call "a large-scale prescription fraud ring."
Born Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, the 24-year-old musician appeared in 1st District Court in Logan for a bail reduction hearing.
Judge Spencer Walsh entertained an agreement between the defense and prosecutors, allowing Gaulden to waive a preliminary hearing and bond to be set at $100,000. The judge then ordered Gaulden to stand trial on charges of pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony; 15 counts of identity fraud and 15 counts of forgery, third-degree felonies, and 15 counts of unlawful conduct, a class A misdemeanor.
In April, a search warrant was executed at Gaulden's multimillion-dollar mansion northeast of Huntsville, Weber County, leading to the rapper's arrest. Police say Gaulden and others were calling in fake prescriptions for promethazine with codeine — "a heavily abused" controlled substance —throughout Cache County and Utah.
Gaulden had been on house arrest since October 2021, related to separate federal weapons charges stemming from an incident in Baton Rouge. Gaulden and 15 others were arrested in 2020 in Louisiana after Baton Rouge police received a tip that a group was filming a music video with guns, according to court documents.
An arraignment hearing is scheduled for July 1 in Logan, when Gaulden will be asked to enter a plea. Gaulden was told he will be able to attend that hearing remotely should he post bail.
On April 26, additional charges related to the prescription fraud case were filed against Gaulden in Weber County's 2nd District Court, including possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a second-degree felony, and two counts of fraudulently obtaining a prescription, a class A misdemeanor. The charges were filed after investigators reported finding a gun while searching his home as well as prescription medications allegedly obtained fraudulently. A nonbailable warrant was issued for his arrest in that case on April 30.
