Houston Rapper Sentenced for Narcotics Trafficking

43-Year-Old Rapper Given 280 Months in Prison

HOUSTON, Texas – Jermaine West, also known as The Breadman, a 43-year-old Houston rapper, has been ordered to serve 280 months in federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and distribute meth, cocaine, and opioids, announced U.S. Attorney B. Lowery.

West pleaded guilty to 10 counts of drug trafficking in the Houston area on April 6. The court heard additional argument that West had engaged in gang activity beyond his drug trafficking. In handing down the sentence, Judge George Hanks noted 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.

The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Houston Police Department. The plea is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation Bullet Trap.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Corley and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Devon Helfmeyer prosecuted the case. The 280-month prison sentence will be immediately followed by six years of supervised release. 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 case is a result of an OCDETF investigation, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States.

West’s real name is Jermaine West, a 43-year-old Houston rapper, and he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and distribute meth, cocaine, and opioids. The crime occurred in Houston, Texas.

Defendant Name: Jermaine West (The Breadman)

Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to distribute and distribute meth, cocaine, and opioids

City and State: Houston, Texas

Exact Date: The investigation began in 2019, and West pleaded guilty on April 6, 2026.

Sentence or Outcome: 280 months in federal prison followed by six years of supervised release.

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