SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rapper Keak Da Sneak, whose real name is Charles Williams, is expected to start a 16-month sentence in a California state prison.
Williams pleaded no contest to felony possession of a firearm after he was caught with a stolen gun in 2017. But Williams, who has been in a wheelchair since October 2017 after being shot several times while leaving his show in Oakland, is hoping for an alternative sentence.
He is going through extensive treatment and therapy hoping he can walk again. However, he's worried treatment may have to be put on pause while he serves his sentence.
"I went from walking in and out of the courtroom to coming in there in a wheelchair," Williams said. "I was in the hospital for six months and been through three lawyers."
According to the Amador County District Attorney's Office, Williams and his lawyer offered the 16-month sentence and the District Attorney accepted.
"When I went to court my lawyer said 'This is what it is. And if you don't take this 16 months now, then they're gonna give you four years and then go to trial,'" Williams recalled his lawyer saying.
The DA also said the gun found in Williams' car was reported stolen from Vallejo. Williams said he wasn't aware and bought it off someone. He bought it right after he was shot and wanted to use it for protection.
Williams said he knows he made a mistake, but thinks alternatives to prison — like wearing an ankle monitor — would allow him to both recover and become an advocate for youth not taking the same path.
"I will be better out here speaking to the youth and telling them to do the right thing and not go the route I went, then just locking me up in the cell," Williams said.
ABC10 reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation about his concerns on treatment. They told us they have inmates with disabilities and medical issues, and each inmate goes through a reception center to get evaluated to determine where they go.
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