Chicago rap star G Herbo was found with a loaded handgun during a traffic stop in the tony River North neighborhood over the weekend, according to police records.
G Herbo, real name Herbert Wright III, was charged with a misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a weapon. He didn’t face additional counts related to the nearly 250 grams of cannabis that was allegedly recovered during the stop Sunday evening in the first block of East Ontario.
Prosecutors denied felony charges, according to his arrest report.
Tactical officers were patrolling the area around 5:45 p.m. when they saw a Cadillac Escalade with a Montana license plate make a turn without signaling, the report states.
The officers approached the SUV and saw Wright sitting in the back seat and “making movements with his hands towards the front center console,” where they ultimately recovered the Glock .357-caliber handgun.
Wright, 27, didn’t have licenses to own or carry the gun and he was taken into custody, the report shows. During his initial court hearing, Judge David Kelly set Wright’s bail at $5,000 and ordered him to refrain from carrying a gun.
Wright has emerged as one of the brightest stars of Chicago’s hyper-violent drill rap scene while also maintaining ties to the No Limit Muskegon Boys, a renegade gang faction made up of members of both the Black P Stones and Gangster Disciples, authorities have said.
While Wright has scored gold and platinum plaques and emerged as a local philanthropist, his rise to fame continues to be hampered by legal issues.
Cook County court records show he has been charged in a series of criminal cases since 2014, most of them involving drug and gun charges that have been dropped. Most recently, he pleaded guilty in 2019 to a misdemeanor gun charge and was sentenced to two years of probation.
He has also been indicted on felony counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and making false statements in two connected cases in federal court in Boston.
Wright and members of his crew carried out what federal prosecutors have described as “a nationwide wire fraud and identity theft scheme that victimized businesses across the United States.”
An indictment unsealed in December 2020 alleged they used stolen credit card details and IDs to pay for pricey meals, designer puppies and private jet and yacht charters. Wright was released on bond but indicted again in May 2021, accused of lying to investigators about his close relationship with a co-defendant named Antonio Strong, described as a rap promoter. Both cases are pending, court records show.
Attorneys for Wright didn’t respond to requests for comment. He is expected to appear in Cook County court again Aug. 1.
