Prosecutors: Chief Keef Gun Range Video A Probation Violation
By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 17, 2012 10:00PM
Cook County prosecutors say 17-year-old rapper Chief Keef should be returned to juvenile detention for violating his probation, in part because of a video interview he recorded with Pitchfork in June at a gun range.
Keef is currently serving 18 months of probation for pointing a gun at a Chicago police officer, and he filmed the Pitchfork segment at Westside Rifle & Pistol Range in New York. In September, Keef sent out a tweet seemingly mocking the death of rival rapper Lil Jojo, spurring Chicago police to include him in their investigation. In the fallout, Pitchfork decided to retract the video of Keef on a gun range.
As our own Jon Graef pointed out in September, the website for the gun range states patrons must be 21 or older, and it would've taken some "legal jujitsu" to get Keef in the building in the first place.
Prosecutors argued he violated the probation by having a gun in a video posted online. They pointed to a recorded media interview the rapper did in June at a gun range in New York, where he can be seen with a gun. That’s a probation violation, prosecutors argued, because his probation bans him from having any guns or illegal drugs or associating with gang members.
During an appearance in juvenile court today, Keef's attorney said the gun range video was "stupid," but said it wasn't Keef's fault "because he was simply listening to advice from adults." Prosecutors also said Keef didn't obtain his GED within the time limit, which the attorney said was because Keef had to switch tutors when he went to California to start recording songs.
The Sun-Times reports that prosecutors suggested Keef should be taken off the streets "for his own safety," and one prosecutor noted that Keef was spotted at the scene of a gang disturbance, associating with known Black Disciple gang members.
“I don’t know how he knows who is in a gang...and who is in the Boy Scouts,” Keef's attorney told the Sun-Times. The judge decided to hold a hearing next month on two counts of probation violation. Keef doesn't seem concerned, though.
He also posed for a photo with a fan in a court hallway, did a little rapping — and predicted an eventual victory.“It’s a piece of cake,” he told a reporter.