A 43-year-old Houston rapper has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and distributing cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney B. Lowery.

Jermaine West (also known by his stage name, “The Breadman”) pleaded guilty to 10 counts of drug trafficking charges in the Houston area, according to DEA Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux.

Today, U.S. District Judge George Hanks ordered West to serve 280 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by six years of supervised release.

At the hearing, additional arguments that West was engaged in gang activity beyond his drug trafficking were heard. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hanks said that West “destroyed people’s lives.” The court further noted that “for 20 years [West] played a dangerous game,” and that he had “played the game and lost.”

West was part of the Hood Kat Music Group rap studio based in southeast Houston.

The investigation began in 2019 when law enforcement learned West was trafficking narcotics. The information regarding drug trafficking as well as West’s known position as an influential gang member in southeast Houston triggered the multi-agency investigation.

West has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Houston Police Department.