Bronx drill rapper Kay Flock, born Kevin Perez, has been found guilty on multiple charges, including racketeering conspiracy, attempted murder, and firearm offenses. The verdict was delivered on Thursday, March 20, 2025, following a trial that shed light on his involvement in gang-related activities.
On December 16, 2021, a shooting occurred outside a barbershop in Harlem, resulting in the death of 24-year-old Hwascar Hernandez. Authorities identified Flock as the primary suspect, alleging that he shot Hernandez during a confrontation. Subsequently, Kay Flock surrendered to the New York Police Department on December 23, 2021, and was charged with first-degree murder.
In February 2023, Kay Flock and seven others were federally indicted on racketeering charges. The indictment accused them of being members of the Sev Side/DOA gang, linked to a series of violent incidents in the Bronx and Manhattan between 2020 and 2022. These incidents included multiple shootings and assaults aimed at rival gang members.
The trial commenced on March 10, 2025, in the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors presented evidence, including Flock’s music lyrics and social media posts, arguing that they demonstrated his involvement in gang activities and acts of violence. On March 20, 2025, the jury convicted Perez on several counts:
- Racketeering conspiracy
- Use of a firearm resulting in death
- Attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering
- Use of a firearm for attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon
Notably, he was acquitted of the charge of murder in aid of racketeering related to the death of Hernandez.
Following the verdict, Flock took to social media, writing: “I beat the top count. I made the judge cry ‘he said now he not force[d] to give me life’ [blowing nose emoji]. Alhamdulillah everything good not good everything bad not bad. Just gotta stay humble till the outcome of your situation and see what Allah got for you [100 emoji] Chin up chest out shit aint over no w[h]ere near!! Remain a G and stay sucka free [zip mouth emoji]. Never fold never will free the [thoroughbred] ones kill all rats.”
May not have been this best statement with sentencing pending!
Flock is scheduled for sentencing on July 16, 2025. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, with the possibility of life imprisonment.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky commented on the conviction, stating that Kay Flock, as a leader of the Sev Side/DOA gang, participated in multiple gang-motivated shootings. Podolsky emphasized that Flock used his music to instill fear, threaten rivals, and brag about violent acts, but the jury’s verdict ensures he will be held accountable for his crimes.
“Kevin Perez, a/k/a ‘Kay Flock,’ was the leader of a neighborhood street gang known as Sev Side / DOA, and with that gang, he committed a series of gang-motivated shootings,” Podolsky asserts in a statement. “Perez, a drill rapper, instilled fear across the community with his violent actions, and then threatened rivals, bragged about shootings, and taunted victims in his rap lyrics.”
Podolsky continued: “But as a unanimous jury has now found, Perez can no longer hide behind his music, and instead will be held to account for his violent crimes. Thanks to the hard work of the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, the cycle of violence that Perez engaged in is over.”
This case underscores the serious legal consequences associated with gang-related violence and the use of artistic platforms to promote or glorify such activities.
