What to Know
- Two sisters Cardi B is accused of attacking were allegedly attacked another time by member of the Bloods gang in New York
- The Bronx rapper is currently facing charges for what sources say was an alleged retaliation attack for perceived cheating
- Cardi B maintains her innocence, and has not been formally linked to the Bloods attack
Two bartending sisters allegedly attacked by rapper Cardi B at a New York City strip club had an earlier visit from the Bloods gang that one of the group's leaders hadn't deemed violent enough, prosecutors say.
After a major roundup of the New York chapter of the Bloods sect 59 Brims on Tuesday, Eastern District court documents revealed that members of the gang visited and attacked Rachel and Sarah Wattley — the two alleged victims in the Cardi B case — two weeks prior to the Cardi B incident.
READ MORE: Cardi B’s Heavily Pregnant Best Friend Star Brim Charged in Sweeping NYC Bloods Gang Roundup
The court documents allege that Cardi B's best friend Yonette Respass, aka "Star Brim," ordered her subordinates in the 59 Brims gang to commit a violent assault against the sisters at the Queens club, Angel's. Sources say Cardi B believed one of the women had an affair with her husband Offset.
Star Brim commissioned the hit from prison in Connecticut, where she was serving a sentence at the time, according to the documents.
Following her orders to "pop that bottle" on one of the bartenders, gang members Jeffrey Bush, Louis Love and Rodolfo Zambrano went to the club on Aug. 15, 2018, and filmed themselves beating one of the sisters. However on seeing the attack, prosecutors say Star Brim was "dissatisfied," and discussed whether it was vicious enough or whether the 59 Brims needed to attack again.
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Two weeks later, Cardi B herself went to the strip club where the sisters work. This time, the women allegedly had glass bottles and alcoholic drinks thrown at them, and one of their heads slammed into the bar, Acting District Attorney John M. Ryan claims.
The rap star allegedly orchestrated the Aug. 29 attack on the sisters in retaliation against one whom she believed had slept with her husband Offset, sources have said. Cardi B apparently suspected one of the sisters was having an affair with Offset and had previously confronted the women, ages 21 and 23, in Atlanta on June 29, the sources said. She briefly split with her allegedly cheating husband, but they later reconciled, according to E! News.
Cardi B pleaded not guilty at her arraignment last June after being indicted on 12 counts, including two felonies, in connection with the strip club brawl last summer, according to public court records. She was in court again last December — sporting a feather-trimmed black coat with a train and a wide-brimmed hat — where her attorneys again maintained her innocence.
At least 18 members of the 59 Brims were charged Tuesday in a major roundup of Bloods gang members in New York City. Multiple arrests occurred across the city in the earlier hours of the morning, including the arrest of 59 Brims "Godfather" Willie "Mills" Evans. Star Brim has arranged with prosecutors to turn herself in at a later date, as she is pregnant and due to give birth any day.
Court documents in the strip club case say Cardi B, Tawana Jackson-Morel and Jeffrey Bush coordinated via social media the date, time and location of the assault on Rachel and Sarah Wattley. Prosecutors alleged that Cardi B and Jackson-Morel discussed payment for the assault which Bush had videotaped. Jackson-Morel and Bush also pleaded not guilty.
"This kind of violence won’t be tolerated in our community. The defendants will be held accountable for their alleged actions," Ryan said in a statement.
Online court records associated with Cardi B's case indicate the "Bodak Yellow" star was charged with two counts of felony attempted assault with intent to cause serious injury. All the other charges, which range from harassment to criminal solicitation, conspiracy and reckless endangerment, are misdemeanors. If convicted, all three face up to four years in prison.
The charges came down just about two months after the "Bodak Yellow" singer declined a plea deal to an A misdemeanor — one that essentially would have gotten her off scot-free if she stayed out of trouble — in connection with the Aug. 29, 2018, fight in Queens.
Surveillance video shows her picking up an ice bucket and throwing it at the two sisters who were bartending, sources have told News 4.
In a previous hearing, a judge had ordered Cardi B to have no contact whatsoever with the two sisters and issued an order of protection for them. He also warned Cardi B to "please be very careful" with social media.
When he asked if all that was clear, the rapper nodded.
Born Belcalis Almanzar, and a former stripper herself, Cardi B was at the club in College Point because Offset was performing with his hip-hop trio Migos, according to police. She and her entourage got into an argument around 3 a.m. Aug. 29 with the two sisters, according to a source directly connected to the two alleged victims, and total chaos allegedly broke out.
