The man jailed for shooting at Lil Wayne’s tour bus has had his conviction quashed after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In April 2015, Jimmy Carlton Winfrey (also known as Peewee Roscoe) was jailed after he pleaded guilty to shooting the bus.
But he has now succeeded with an appeal bid after it emerged that a judge warned Winfrey that he would receive a harsher sentence if he did not accept a parole deal.
“Go to trial and you get convicted there’s not going to be any of me being concerned about when you parole out. … Whatever they say you’re guilty of I’m going to sentence you, and I’m not going to worry about when you get out of jail because it’s not my concern,” the judge told Winfrey at the time.
She also said of her reputation, “is not that I’m an easy judge.”
During the appeal, the court ruled by a majority verdict that the judge’s comments invalidated Winfrey’s guilty plea. It was also agreed that the judge had “crossed the line” and “impliedly threatened” Winfrey.
Winfrey will now be held in custody as his case returns to court, where he’ll face the opportunity of a trial or another plea deal.
Although Winfrey previously claimed that he shot the bus to gain a higher gang rank, it was alleged that Young Thug and Birdman were involved in planning the shoot. All three were sued by Wayne’s bus driver.
