Eugene “Big U” Henley is still behind bars as he awaits trial on RICO charges. However, after requesting a trial date in October 2027, the court decided to push it back to April, according to Complex. Big U appeared in a Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday after his team requested a delay to the start date of the trial. The trial was initially supposed to start on February 16, 2027, but he and his team asked to delay it until October 19th, 2027.
Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha ultimately agreed to the amended request for a start date on April 27th, 2027. A big reason behind the request was that Big U’s attorneys only joined his legal team in September and needed time to catch up.
"The trial is complex, the discovery is voluminous, and Mr. Henley is facing a possible sentence of life imprisonment," the attorneys wrote. "After a careful review of the landscape of this case, Counsel for Mr. Henley has concluded that they will need more time to prepare."
Big U Trial Start Date
Prosecutors didn’t agree to the delay in the trial. They cited that pushing the trial date back poses actual threats to the witnesses. In particular, they pointed to an incident of vandalism where one of the witnesses had “rat” spray-painted on their home. Moreover, the charges against Big U also include allegations surrounding a murder-for-hire scheme against a witness.
Big U and his six co-defendants face allegations of kidnapping, fraud, embezzlement, extortion, prostitution, and murder. The prosecutors accuse the music manager of functioning like a “mafia-like organization,” specifically related to having celebrities “check in” for their “protection.” We will continue to keep you posted on any further updates surrounding the case.
