Kevin Gates Says He Plead Guilty for Gun Charge Although He Was Innocent

Fresh off the heels of the release of Lucas Brasi 3, Kevin Gates sat down with Sway Calloway for a four-part interview. In the first part, which was released on Monday, talks about reconnecting with his family after serving time and more.

Gates began his 9-month sentence in Florida’s Polk County Jail and transferred to East Moline Correctional Center in Illinois for his felony gun charge. He was sentenced for 30-months before actually being released in January.

But in this interview, the rapper shared that although he was innocent, he plead guilty to avoid a harsher sentencing.

“I was innocent, but I plead guilty to that charge because you know, a lot of times you can beat the charge, but you can’t beat the ride,” he said around the 11-minute mark in the video above. “I probably would have sit another three-four years just fighting the charge.”

He gave further details on why he had a reduced sentence. “When they came with the 30 months, they sentenced me below the guideline. The guideline should have been 36 months. So the judge showed leniency because I had been detained in Florida in another jurisdiction… I ended up doing nine months on the 30 months. I earned good time, supplemental sentence cred.”

Gates called his time at East Moline Correctional Center “beautiful.”

“The different thing about Gangland—and when I say that Illinois—it was so beautiful because it was structured different. I never been around that type of structure. And it was beautiful,” he said.

Check out the first part of the Kevin Gates interview with Sway above.