AUSTIN (KXAN) — Louisiana rapper Boosie spoke out this week about a Travis County arrest warrant that accused him of theft of services. He told pop culture outlet The Shade Room via video statement that it was a “misunderstanding.”
The charge was filed concerning a June incident in which he allegedly did not pay for chauffeur services provided to him over a few days. The services amounted to $8,800, according to court records.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Torence Hatch, 41, who goes by Boosie Badazz, Lil Boosie, or just Boosie, was charged with theft of service greater than or equal to $2,500 and less than $30,000. The charge was filed on Aug. 29.
On Sept. 20, a summons for Hatch to appear in court Oct. 28 for a pre-trial hearing was issued. An order to recall the warrant was filed Sept. 19, but the warrant is still listed as active on Travis County’s online records and the court confirmed the case status is an “active warrant” because it hasn’t yet received a physical copy of the recalled warrant from DPS.
When NewsNation affiliate KXAN first reported the warrant, there was no attorney listed in online records for Hatch, and KXAN attempted to reach out to emails listed on his website to request commentary. Since then, an attorney has been added and responded to KXAN’s request for comment.
“Torence’s charge was rejected from prosecution today by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. We appreciate their hard work and time to help resolve a civil matter that inexplicably was charged as a felony offense. This was a contractual dispute and nothing more,” Benjamin Gergen wrote in a statement.
The DA’s Office confirmed the rejection of charges, stating the restitution was paid and both parties were in agreement with the resolution.
On Tuesday, The Shade Room posted a video on Instagram of the rapper addressing the situation, saying it was “just a misunderstanding” and that the “warrant had been cleared.”
Hatch claimed in the video that he did social media promotions for the chauffeur company and a food company owned by the chauffeur driver’s wife, and he thought those were a trade-off for the chauffeur services. However, the affidavit noted that the chauffeur driver never agreed to that kind of payment deal.
“He said he talked to one of my guys and they had set a price, and I never knew nothing about that. But everything’s been cleared so obviously it was a misunderstanding,” Hatch said in the video. “I’m just glad it’s been resolved, I paid the restitution.”
Hatch also mentioned in the video that the sprinter van had been broken into at one point. The affidavit said that happened the night of June 7 at an event in San Antonio. According to the affidavit, law enforcement responded to the burglary, but Hatch did not want to file a report on items stolen, and he left the venue while police were fingerprinting the van. The chauffeur driver told police that neither Hatch nor the other people with him “showed any remorse for [the] van being burglarized, nor assist with covering the cost for damages,” the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, the driver also told police that after Hatch and the others left Austin, one of them face-timed the driver to ask about an item that was left behind, and the driver took the opportunity to confront them about payment. The driver said he heard Hatch in the background tell the person to hang up the phone, and after that, none of them answered the driver’s calls or messages, according to the affidavit. The driver issued an official invoice after this, the affidavit said.
This story will be updated if KXAN receives a response from Hatch or his attorney.