Last night (Oct. 26), it was reported that Kevin Gates has been sentenced to serve six months (180 days) in prison, as a Florida judge found him guilty of misdemeanor battery for an incident last summer, when he kicked an 18-year-old female fan in the chest during a concert in Lakeland, FL. A few days after a viral video of the kick went live, Gates responded to the incident with a single called "The Truth." In his legal defense, Gates argued that his actions were taken in self-defense (as the fan had repeatedly touched him in inappropriate areas, he said), and his counsel invoked Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law. After the verdict, Gates was immediately taken into custody, and he is being held in Polk County Jail.
Dreka Gates, who accompanied her husband to many of the hearings throughout the trial, has responded to the unfavorable verdict with an indignant Instagram post in which she accuses the victim of the battery of fabricating her story and bringing forth charges in a desperate attempt for "fame and money." Dreka also revealed that the prosecution had wanted to give her husband 60 days with anger management therapy, but for reasons undisclosed, the judge decided upon a six-month sentence.
Dreka's written response to the ruling is accompanied by a video replay of the kick in question, which she hopes will cast doubt on the victim's testimony that Gates "knocked the breath out her" and caused her to faint. "If anything," writes Dreka, "her friend choked the fuck out her." Watch the clip (WARNING: GRAPHIC) and read Dreka's caption below.
Read last year's feature-length profile, "All Too Human: The Perfect Imperfection of Kevin Gates."