Lil Zay Osama will spend a little more than a year in prison because of the modified weapon that he left in a car.
A press release from the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York this week states that the 27-year-old rapper, whose real name is Isaiah Dukes, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison — plus a $10,000 fine.
“Today’s sentence serves as a warning that those who possess illegal guns, particularly with switches that convert those guns into machineguns, will be held accountable for their actions and for the danger they pose to our community,” said United States Attorney Breon Peace in the release.
In September 2022, police say Osama left a loaded Glock 22.40 caliber pistol with a “switch” device, that could enable the weapon to fire more than one round with a single press of the trigger, in the back of an Uber car. At the time, he was in Queens — having come from a hotel in Manhattan to then record at a studio.
The rideshare driver reportedly saw the rapper holding the firearm throughout the trip and noticed that it was still there after he exited. The driver reported the rapper to the authorities afterwards.
Osama was arrested soon after and charged with possession of a machine gun as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was facing more than two decades in prison.
Earlier this year, Osama pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun. "I knowingly possessed a firearm that was a machine gun in Queens County on Sept. 29, 2022," the rapper told Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkl in court. "I know that it was wrong and against the law."
