The Big U is asking a federal judge to let him out of jail long enough to wash and shroud and attend Janazah prayers, but prosecutors say they can’t trust him outside the walls of MDC Los Angeles.
Their new filing said he was too dangerous, too unpredictable and had broken so many prison rules that even a tightly controlled funeral release would put people at risk.
“final, [Big U’s] Release – for any length of time – would pose too great a risk to justice and human life in this case. For the safety of the community, victims and witnesses of the crime, the defendant should remain in custody,” the prosecutor said.
The plea comes after his eldest son, Jabari “Baby Uiie” Henley, was fatally shot on Oct. 31 in South Los Angeles after leaving a neighborhood “Tail or Bag” event.
Jabari was shot as he walked toward a car near 69th Street, and shots were fired at Figueroa and the person inside the car. He died on the spot. Big U said he wanted a brief release to perform Islamic rituals that would require his parents to wash and wrap the body.
His lawyers proposed a highly restrictive plan: electronic monitoring, private security paid for by the family, fixed routes between the detention center and the funeral and strict no-contact rules. All expenses will be borne by his family, the documents said.
Prosecutors responded by laying out alleged misconduct that occurred in prison over several months.
They said recordings of his calls showed “hundreds” of violations, including using other inmates’ BOP numbers to call people he didn’t want the prison to track.
They said the inmate would perform voice verification before handing the phone to him during each call. Prosecutors said he then told people to add third parties on encrypted apps and warned them to stick with those encrypted platforms.
They claim he mainly used the phones to contact his girlfriend. The two talked about sending illicit photos through the mail hidden in legal documents and continued to have phone sex, according to prosecutors.
They also said he directed her to sign up for a paralegal class so she could pose as a “legal visitor” and get around visitation rules.
The brief said he didn’t stop there. Prosecutors said he discussed passing information to co-defendants who were prohibited from contacting him, contacting a confidential informant, pushing a rule that no one should plead guilty unless he pleaded guilty and spending significant money on investigators despite having a court-appointed attorney.
Prosecutors argued that letting him out, even briefly, could expose the witness, noting that he knew exactly who reported him. Courts rarely grant bereavement leave in such cases, they said, adding that his unnamed private security team did not qualify as a “fit and proper person” to supervise him under federal law.
Big U was hit with 43 RICO indictments alleging he ran the “Big U Enterprise,” extorted artists and athletes, misused nonprofit funds, committed fraud and killed aspiring rapper Rayshawn Williams in 2021.
“The Big U was charged with the murder of a young man who himself was buried by his parents — and the defendant famously did not attend the funeral, even though he had known the victim his entire life, managed his music career, and paid for travel expenses during his final moments on earth,” prosecutors said of Williams’ murder.
The judge will rule on the request on November 17, 2025.
