LIVERMORE — Prosecutors right here have filed felony prices towards a neighborhood rap artist who police say is thought for selling his avenue gang in his music.
Richard Ivy, recognized within the rap world as Curly LVM, was charged with avenue terrorism and gun possession, each felonies, in addition to a misdemeanor depend of getting marijuana on the market. Throughout a April 2 raid of Ivy’s residence, police say they discovered 1.5 kilos of marijuana, which investigators calculated was sufficient to get the common person constantly excessive for 4,984 hours, or about 207 days.
Police say they’re aware of Ivy — who turned 18 simply final month — by his standing as a neighborhood member of the Livermore Valley Mexicans gang, a subset of the Norteño gang, and as a rapper who makes “drill music,” a subgenre of rap that promotes gang life. Along with monitoring his music, police say they’re conscious of situations the place Ivy drove by rival gang neighborhoods and threw up gang indicators to “antagonize” folks there.
On March 31, investigators authored a sealed search warrant to raid the Livermore residence the place Ivy lives together with his mom, and to undergo his automobile, based on courtroom data.
A few of Ivy’s music now appears prophetic. Final yr, he launched a tune and music video known as “Run It Up,” the place he opined that “gang task always on my a– for some dumb s—,” referring to a police gang job pressure, and particularly taunts the Livermore police division, rapping, “f— LPD.”
Ivy was charged on April 4 and has since been launched after posting $55,000 bail. His lawyer declined to touch upon the costs. His subsequent courtroom date is on Could 21, with a preliminary listening to set for June, data present.
In the course of the April 2 raid, Livermore police say they recovered “gang indicia,” together with a Huegla chook flag — a typical image utilized by the Nuestra Acquainted jail gang and the Norteños — and writing that referred to Ivy being a “sixth generation” gang member. Police say they used a sledge hammer to bust open a protected in Ivy’s room, the place they discovered a loaded revolver.
The road terrorism cost, a standalone felony, generically alleges that Ivy “did unlawfully and actively participate in a criminal street gang” with out specifying what he did. The mere undeniable fact that it was filed seems to be a deviation from the prior Alameda County District Lawyer administration underneath recently-recalled DA Pamela Worth, who typically opposed gang prices, arguing they had been disproportionately utilized to minorities and contributed to mass incarceration.
Ivy pleaded not responsible on April 23, courtroom data present.
Initially Revealed: April 29, 2025 at 1:23 PM PDT
