A federal judge on Tuesday set a hearing for Nov. 14 to consider whether Memphis rapper Ricky Hampton, who was onstage when a shootout erupted last year inside the Power Ultra Lounge, can withdraw his March 5 guilty plea to a gun charge stemming from an earlier shooting.
In scheduling the hearing to begin at 2 p.m. in his Little Rock courtroom, U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes noted, “In the event the motion to withdraw guilty plea and substitute counsel is denied, the parties should be prepared to immediately proceed to sentencing in this case.”
Hampton, 25, who performed under the name Finese2Tymes, wasn’t charged in the July 1, 2017, shooting at the now-shuttered downtown Little Rock nightclub that left 28 people wounded. He was, however, charged the following day, when he and his bodyguard were arrested in Baton Rouge, in an incident that occurred early June 25 outside Club Envy in Forrest City, following his performance there.