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Everything We Know About the Indictment Suggesting Young Thug and Birdman Tried to Kill Lil Wayne

Young Thug's associate Jimmy Winfrey, a.k.a. Pee Wee, was charged with shooting at Lil Wayne's tour bus, and the indictment suggests Thug and Birdman might have orchestrated it.

Photo via Pee Wee's Instagram

The complex rivalry and tension growing among Lil Wayne, Young Thug, and Birdman has hardly been a secret over the past few months, but a new indictment from the Cobb County courts could suggest that things are far more complicated and serious than fans might have realized. The indictment charges Jimmy Winfrey, a.k.a. Pee Wee or Roscoe (not to be confused with the Atlanta recording artist PeeWee Longway), on 30 criminal counts in relation to allegedly shooting at Lil Wayne's tour bus in Atlanta. More alarmingly, it also mentions Young Thug and Birdman and suggests that Winfrey was in close contact with them during the shooting. So, did Young Thug and Birdman potentially have a role in the shooting of Lil Wayne's tour bus? That's what the indictment seems to suggest.

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Let's recap: Last fall, Birdman put his promotional weight behind Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan's Rich Gang project, leaving the long-gestating Lil Wayne album Tha Carter V in the lurch and prompting some very public annoyance on Wayne's part. Over the winter, Wayne sued Cash Money for $51 million. This spring, the tension between Wayne and Thug grew, with Thug announcing he was going to release an album called Tha Carter 6. It was later changed to Barter 6 (a nod to the Blood custom of changing Cs to Bs). Threats were tossed out on Instagram and, most notably, in the video for Young Thug's "Halftime." Tensions are still apparently high: Just this past weekend, Birdman reportedly threw a drink at Lil Wayne onstage in Miami.

All of this, other than the drink thing, is mentioned in the indictment, but here's where it gets interesting: The indictment points out that the night of the shooting, April 26, Thug was performing in New Orleans (Lil Wayne's home city) and "was shouted off the stage in New Orleans with the crowd chanting for Lil Wayne." The same night, Wayne was performing in Atlanta (Young Thug's home city) and "at the time Dwayne Carter [a.k.a. Lil Wayne] began his performance, Blood gang members associated with Jeffrey Williams [a.k.a. Young Thug], to include Jimmy Winfrey, left an Atlanta location known as the Vault in vehicles and traveled to the [venue] Compound."

Screenshot of the indictment

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Police noticed Winfrey's car, a white 2015 Chevrolet Camaro, and "observed that Winfrey had an assault rifle in his vehicle and that he was the only occupant of his vehicle." They tried to detain him, but he fled before they could. Fearing an attack, they gave Lil Wayne's tour bus an escort. After the escort ended, Winfrey allegedly pulled up alongside the two tour buses on Interstate 285 and shots from a .40 caliber handgun and 9mm handgun were fired from the car at the buses. Cell phone records show that Winfrey was in contact with Young Thug while the police were escorting the tour buses, that he didn't use his cell phone while on Interstate 285, and that after getting off the highway and returning to Atlanta on Interstate 75 he called the phone of Bryan Williams, a.k.a. Birdman.

Screenshot of the indictment

Wayne's bus driver then reportedly called the police, who met the buses at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Winfrey hid the Camaro and headed to Miami—but he also had posted a picture of the car on Instagram, which he tried to delete. The police found where he hid the Camaro, obtained a warrant, and found the car in the garage of one of his relatives. The indictment points to Pee Wee holding up an assault rifle in Thug's "Halftime" video (released June 8), noting that "Jeffrey Williams stated that if he pulled up next to 'Lil Whodi' he would 'pop him in the noggin', and thereafter a gun was pointed at the camera," suggesting that Winfrey was following through on Thug's threats.

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Screenshot of the indictment

Now Winfrey has been charged with three counts of Violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, eight counts of Violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, 12 counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the First Degree, one count of Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Thug, for what it's worth, has made several Instagram posts in recent weeks saying "free Pee Wee" and "free Roscoe." He was also arrested yesterday on charges of terroristic threats in a separate incident, which is what helped reporter Mike Petchenik of WBS TV uncover the indictment and publicize it in the first place.

So: Did Young Thug and Birdman order a hit on Wayne? Was it because Thug was booed offstage in New Orleans? Did Pee Wee shoot at Lil Wayne's tour bus and then accidentally give himself up on Instagram? The Cobb County indictment suggests yes to all of these. Is it possible that a bunch of unrelated things are being grouped into the same case and that lyrics are being used unfairly as evidence? Yes, certainly. But the charges don't look particularly encouraging. This case, at the very least, is a lot more complicated than an argument over an album title. Read the full indictment here, as unearthed by Petchenik.

Follow Kyle Kramer on Twitter.