Big U was denied the chance to leave federal custody for his son’s funeral after a judge ruled he could not be trusted outside MDC Los Angeles, even for a tightly controlled religious burial.
The court instead offered a private viewing of his son’s body and a video link to watch the service. His detention order stays in place.
The decision ends a push by Big U to attend the Janazah for his eldest son, Jabari “Baby Uiie” Henley, who was shot and killed on October 31 in South Los Angeles.
Jabari had just left a community trunk-or-treat event when he walked up to a parked car. Someone inside opened fire and killed him on the spot.
He was 34.
Big U asked for a temporary release so he could wash and shroud the body according to Islamic custom, then attend the prayer service. His legal team proposed a restrictive setup: electronic monitoring, private security paid by his family, a fixed route, federal escort and no contact with anyone outside the funeral’s required steps.
But prosecutors pushed back hard. Their filing said he has spent his time in MDC Los Angeles breaking Bureau of Prisons rules “hundreds” of times.
They said he used other inmates’ BOP numbers to mask calls, had those inmates speak first so the system recognized their voices, then took the phone and told people on the outside to add third parties through encrypted apps.
He also warned callers not to greet him with Islamic phrases, as he said that could flag the account.
They said most of those calls were to his girlfriend. According to prosecutors, the two talked about hiding illicit photos inside legal folders to get them past mail screening and had phone sex during the recorded calls.
They also said he coached her on enrolling in a single paralegal class to qualify for “legal visitation” and sidestep MDC’s strict visitor limits.
They told the judge the danger went far beyond rule-breaking. They cited two statements captured during the investigation:
“If I would’ve had a problem with any man…, the issue would’ve been resolved, and he wouldn’t be here, or I wouldn’t be here,” and “Can’t no [one] beef with me . . . Cause if he do, I’mma kill him. Period. Point Blank. I. Am. Going. To. Murder. Him.”
Prosecutors argued he knows who cooperated against him and could act on those threats.
Big U remains held on a 43-count RICO indictment accusing him of leading the “Big U Enterprise,” extorting artists and athletes, misusing nonprofit money, committing fraud and killing aspiring rapper Rayshawn Williams in 2021.
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