Rapper brothers Polo G and Trench Baby arrested after Chatsworth raid prompted by robbery
Polo G and Trench Baby, popular rappers who are also brothers, were arrested Wednesday after a raid on the former’s Chatsworth mansion, according to the LAPD.
Officers raided the house of multi-platinum recording artist Polo G, whose legal name is Taurus Bartlett, 24, in search of his younger brother, Trench Baby, whose legal name is Taurean Bartlett, 18, the LAPD said Thursday in a statement. The younger Bartlett, who was wanted in a robbery, was taken into police custody.
Also, while searching Taurus Bartlett’s $4.9-million mansion and car, police said they found an illegal short-barrel rifle, which resulted in the rapper’s arrest. Photos and video of the raid — obtained by TMZ — showed officers leading the brothers away from the home in handcuffs.
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Taurean Bartlett was released late Wednesday after posting $100,000 bail, while Taurus Bartlett was released on his own recognizance, according to Los Angeles County jail records. The younger Bartlett is due in court Sept. 13, while the older Bartlett is scheduled to appear on Sept. 12.
When news of the arrests broke, Taurus Bartlett’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, told XXL and other outlets that police had “refused to allow us access to our client which is also an illegal and unethical practice and someone will have to answer for these new wrongful actions.”
Cohen, who has represented rappers Draze, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, said in an email to The Times that any charges against Polo G were “very unusual given the timing and alleged knowledge of the police.”
“We believe once all the facts come out it will be a very different picture than how the charges look on paper. We look forward to challenging the accusations and the vindication [of] our client,” he told The Times.
It was unclear whether Taurean Bartlett had retained legal representation.
The raid and subsequent arrests stem from an LAPD investigation into an Aug. 15 robbery at a home in the 18500 block of Clydesdale Avenue in Granada Hills.
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The LAPD said that on the evening of Aug. 15, the victim arrived at the home of the suspect, whom they allege is Taurean Bartlett. While at the house, police said the suspect pulled out a handgun and asked the victim to transfer money to his account. While the victim complied, police said, the suspect also demanded that he empty his pockets.
After identifying the 18-year-old as the suspect, detectives obtained a search warrant for his Granada Hills house. But during the investigation, authorities had learned that Taurean was staying at his brother Taurus’ Chatsworth home and obtained a separate search warrant.
Taurus Bartlett, performing as Polo G, grew up in Chicago’s drill rap scene and had exploded into stardom in recent years. The Columbia Records artist bought his Chatsworth home in June 2021 on the heels of two hit albums, the first of which, his 2019 debut, “Die a Legend,” went double-platinum. The following year, his second album, “Goat,” had 10 songs chart in Billboard’s Hot 100.
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In 2021, within days of landing his new Chatsworth mansion, Bartlett dropped his third album, “Hall of Fame,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album’s single, “Rapstar,” spent two weeks atop the charts, besting superstars Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, the Weeknd and Ariana Grande.
All three of his albums have sold more than 2 million copies or units each. Just last week, Bartlett announced the release of his fourth album, “H.O.O.D P.O.E.T.”
Taurean Bartlett is also a rapper, performing as Trench Baby, and the pair have performed on several songs together. Taurean Bartlett started rapping as a teenager, with his older brother serving as a mentor.
In an interview with AllHipHop.com, a 16-year-old Taurean Bartlett spoke of how he was emboldened by his brother’s rapid success, which set a path for his own career.
“S—, it was crazy. I ain’t gonna lie, it was crazy,” he said in 2021. “Seeing everything unfold piece by piece was crazy. People where we’re from, it doesn’t usually happen like that, you feel me? Blew up in two years, that was major fasho.”
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