Judge sets stricter house arrest rules for Louisiana rapper

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana judge has added two hours to a local rapper’s house arrest curfew after he was reported jet skiing and enjoying the beach near his south Florida home.

State District Judge Tarvald Smith declined to revoke or increase rapper Lit Yoshi’s $1.82 million bond, although prosecutors argued that Yoshi was treating his house arrest as a “paid vacation,” news outlets reported.

Yoshi’s real name is Mieyoshi Tyree Edwards.

At a hearing Monday, East Baton Rouge Parish Assistant District Attorney Stuart Theriot said Edwards violated his house arrest agreement by gallivanting around Miami late at night.

Edward’s attorney, Ron Haley, said his client was confused over whether he was under strict 24-hour house arrest or a curfew.

Judge Smith said Edwards committed technical violations of his bond conditions.

“Mr. Edwards, you sir are under house arrest,” Smith said. “You are not down there on a vacation. You’re down there for your damn safety.”

Smith increased Edwards’ curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. He also confined Edwards’ movement to a 10-mile (16-kilometre) radius of his home.

Edwards’ next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 25.

Edwards was released from jail in August after pleading not guilty to seven counts of attempted first-degree murder stemming from April and July drive-by shootings, that left several people wounded, including two children.

The incident was the result of a feud between two gangs. Police accused Edwards of being a member and “top enforcer” of one of the gangs, the Top Boy Gorilla gang.

Police also charged Edwards with attempted first-degree murder in an April 2019 shooting in which no one was wounded.

The Associated Press