The Pensacola rapper charged with attempted first-degree premeditated murder in Pensacola will have to wait for his trial after the federal government kept him in custody and did not transport him from the Florida capital.
Jovon Booker, whose stage name is Playa Pat, and his attorney Patrece Cashwell are demanding a jury trial in his attempted first-degree premeditated murder case in which he’s accused of shooting 36-year-old Gustavus Nairn at the now-closed Paparazzi Lounge in 2024. He ran into a problem Monday, however, when he was scheduled to select a panel of jurors.
Booker is currently held in the Florida capital where he faces federal money laundering and drug trafficking charges. According to the court, federal law enforcement did not release Booker into local custody for him to be transported from Tallahassee back to Escambia County.
Chief Judge John Simon, the presiding judge over Booker’s state case, told the attorneys that federal law enforcement “have a different mechanism” when it comes to housing defendants in preparation for their federal trial. Booker’s federal trial is scheduled for Aug. 3.
Now that Simon had to change the date of Booker’s jury selection, the local rapper will face his federal trial first. Booker’s next scheduled state court date is set for Sept. 2.
What are Jovon ‘Playa Pat’ Booker’s state charges?
On May 12, 2024, Booker allegedly shot Nairn multiple times inside Pensacola’s Paparazzi night club. Three days later, officers with Pensacola police, U.S. Marshals, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Florida Highway Patrol arrested him near the corner of Belmont and DeVilliers streets near Five Sisters Blues Café.
In addition to his attempted murder charge, he’s also facing counts of aggravated battery with great bodily harm by discharging a firearm, shooting within a building, carrying a concealed weapon in a prohibited place and tampering with or harassing a witness.
Booker faces up to life in prison if convicted as charged.
What are Jovon ‘Playa Pat’ Booker’s federal charges?
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida John Heekin announced Aug. 26, 2025, that a federal grand jury indicted Booker on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering through high-end jewelry purchases, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
An order regarding probable cause that is not under seal states that “the government proffered evidence which strongly indicated that the Defendant conspired to distribute controlled substances, distributed controlled substances, and participated in a conspiracy to launder money. This evidence included photographs of the Defendant posing with large amounts of U.S. currency and photographs of narcotics. The evidence also included electronic evidence and evidence of items recovered during searches.”
If convicted, Booker faces up to life imprisonment on the charges in the indictment.
Who is Pensacola rapper Playa Pat, stage name for Jovon Booker?
Booker is a Pensacola rapper who goes by the stage name “Playa Pat” and has attained over 1 million views among his list of songs. Some of his most popular songs include “God Father,” “No Brakes,” and “Trap Blessed.”
According to Spotify, Booker averages over 200 monthly listeners and has over 4,200 followers. Apple Music does not publicly display monthly listeners for artists.
Booker’s Spotify bio says he’s “cultivated his own style highlighted by a wavy cadence, signature high-pitched tone, deft rhyme-play and punchy lyrics.”
“I wanted people to be able to relate,” he said in his bio. “You’re going to understand where I’m from and who I am.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Feds prevent Pensacola rapper Playa Pat’s Escambia murder trial
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal | USA TODAY Network
