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YFN Lucci is still alive, although rumors circulated online that the 33-year-old rapper was killed in prison.
In January, Lucci pleaded guilty to a gang-related crime after being charged with murder, gang-related crime and organized crime in Atlanta nearly three years earlier. He received a 10-year prison sentence.
On Wednesday (September 18), rumors spread on social media that Lucci, real name Rayshawn Bennett, had died.
However, TMZ reports that Lucci’s attorney Drew Findling, who represented him in the January trial, confirmed that his client is alive and well.
It is speculated that the recent rumors surrounding Lucci’s death were staged to fuel strong emotions following the death of his former labelmate Rich Homie Quan earlier this month.
Quan, whose real name was Dequantes Lamar, was found dead at home at the age of 34. The cause of death has not yet been announced.
Lucci was one of a dozen people charged in a sweeping indictment against alleged Bloods gang members in April 2021.
He was initially charged with murder in January 2021 after police said he was the driver in a gang-related drive-by shooting that left a man dead.
As part of an agreement, prosecutors dropped 12 of 13 charges against Bennett and he pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, his lawyers said.
“After three years of pretrial proceedings, more than two weeks of jury selection, and three years in jail while awaiting his jury trial, the prosecution finally relented today and dropped the murder and RICO charges against Rayshawn Bennett,” defense attorneys Drew Findling, Gabe Banks and Marissa Goldberg said at the time. “As he has maintained for three years, Mr. Bennett will not cooperate in any other case.”
Lucci accepted a deal and pleaded guilty on January 23, 2024. He was sentenced to ten years in prison and ten years probation. His time in prison was credited as time already served.
In July, the Fulton County District Attorney submitted a letter to the state Board of Pardons and Parole calling for his early release as early as January 2025.
“The Fulton County District Attorney has done the unconventional,” Findling told WSB-TV in Atlanta. “This letter from the District Attorney is a powerful punch and forms the core of the letter and supporting documents and memorandum that we submitted to the parole board.”
