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Utah Pharmacist Reacts to NBA YoungBoy’s Presidential Pardon
KSLTV.com ^ | 5/29/25 | Shelby Lofton

Posted on 05/29/2025 6:47:52 PM PDT by skyman

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah pharmacist is upset the man who admitted to breaking into his pharmacy has been let off the hook.

On May 28, President Donald Trump pardoned 25-year-old rapper NBA YoungBoy, who had been sentenced to nearly two years in jail in Utah back in December 2024.

The President didn’t explain why he pardoned the rap star. NBA YoungBoy’s record includes drug fraud and weapons charges, both federally and at the state level.

“My very first gut reaction to hearing that pardon was what a terrible lesson to teach your boys,” Phil Cowley, a Utah pharmacist, said.

Cowley was not happy to learn that NBA YoungBoy is now a free man.

The performer, whose given name is Kentrell Gaulden, was serving a 23-month sentence for federal gun charges. Before that, he paid a $25,000 fine for his involvement in a prescription drug fraud ring.

“He swept the lower shelf, and he got all the hydrocodone,” Cowley said.

In 2023, at least 16 pharmacies across Utah and other states were broken into.

“Each one of those stores lost somewhere between $15,000 and $30,00,” Cowley said.

That includes Cache Valley Pharmacy, which Cowley owned at the time.

“The windows I had to replace, took my whole month’s worth of earnings from me,” he said.

Gaulden was also involved with fraud calls, where callers disguised their voice to ask for promethazine with codeine. Cowley told KSL TV it’s often used to make something called purple drank.

“As soon as they caught him, everything stopped,” Cowley said. “And so now, is he going to do it again?”

Gaulden’s attorney also worked with President Trump in a 2022 election interference investigation in Georgia.

“To get pardoned because you know the right people, I mean, what lesson does that teach anybody,” Cowley said.

On Instagram, the rapper thanked the president, saying the pardon allowed him to keep building as “a man, a father and an artist.”

“Well then, be a man. You have the money, go help the businesses you hurt,” Cowley said.

Cache County Sheriff D. Chad Jensen released the following statement regarding the pardon.

Cache County Attorney Taylor Sorensen and I have recently been made aware that President Donald Trump has pardoned Kentrell Desean Gaulden aka NBA Young Boy who pled guilty in November 2024 to his role in a prescription drug fraud ring in Cache County. He also pled guilty to additional charges in other jurisdictions. His pardon comes in a grouping with other convicts across the country. The reason given for these pardons was to correct “a politicized and weaponized justice system.”

We are extremely proud of the work our investigator and prosecutors did on this case as well as grateful for all the help we received from other local and federal agencies. Mr. Gaulden pled guilty to the charges in this investigation, and we feel strongly the Justice System in Cache County is far from a “weaponized system of justice.” We have highly trained, honest, experienced and professional sheriff’s investigators and county prosecutors, along with respected District Court Judges and Defense Attorneys. We, along with all of our staff are proud of the work we do in Cache County.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: crime; gaulden; hydrocodone; kentrellgaulden; nba; nbayoungboy; pardon; philcowley; rapper; thief; trump; utah; youngboy
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The guy broke into at least 16 pharmacies and stole between $15,000-30,000 in drugs from each one.

The guys attorney worked with Trump in the past. Can someone help me understand why Trump would pardon this guy?

This just looks and smells bad.

1 posted on 05/29/2025 6:47:52 PM PDT by skyman
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To: skyman

Some of these pardons make no sense at all.


2 posted on 05/29/2025 6:51:44 PM PDT by shelterguy
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To: skyman

Yeah this doesnt sound like a good pardon by Trump.


3 posted on 05/29/2025 6:53:13 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: skyman

The Culpeper County sheriff pardon looks and smells bad as well. Sometimes Trump makes things very difficult for us.


4 posted on 05/29/2025 6:53:39 PM PDT by KevinB (I don’t really care, Margaret.)
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To: skyman

> “My very first gut reaction to hearing that pardon was what a terrible lesson to teach your boys,” Phil Cowley, an Utah pharmacist, said. <

He’s right. I can’t see how it can be argued otherwise.

Trump is spot on with so many things. But some of his pardons frankly stink. Not quite to the level of Biden’s pardons. But they stink nevertheless.

Oh, well. I guess we can’t expect perfection.


5 posted on 05/29/2025 6:53:49 PM PDT by Leaning Right (It's morning in America. Again.)
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To: Leaning Right
Oh, well. I guess we can’t expect perfection.

But we can hope for it.

6 posted on 05/29/2025 6:57:26 PM PDT by null and void (Democrats: fake news, fake presidents, fake beliefs, fake policies, fake protesters & fake voters!)
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To: Secret Agent Man

“Yeah this doesnt sound like a good pardon by Trump.”

Still better than Mike Huckabee, as he claimed to be able to read the minds of murderers and rapists prior to pardoning them - needless to say Huckabee didn’t read very well. Hopefully Trump doesn’t slip-into the Huckabee mindset, due to the same malady.


7 posted on 05/29/2025 7:01:16 PM PDT by BobL
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To: shelterguy

Unless you track the donations, I suspect.


8 posted on 05/29/2025 7:03:04 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Leaning Right

I remember when he pardoned Alice Johnson in his first term. They acted like she was sent to prison for a long time because she got caught with a joint. WRONG!!! She was a big coke dealer.

I can only guess on that pardon that it was to help get the black vote. Some of the others just don’t sound logical.


9 posted on 05/29/2025 7:03:36 PM PDT by shelterguy
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To: null and void

The more I think about these pardons, the more concerned I am.

A presidential pardon is meant to right a wrong. It is not meant to advance a political goal, or to protect friends and relatives. Biden shamelessly used his pardon power for all the wrong reasons.

Is Trump going down that same road? If so, I will certainly still strongly support him. But a bit of the luster will be gone.


10 posted on 05/29/2025 7:04:49 PM PDT by Leaning Right (It's morning in America. Again.)
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To: shelterguy

> WRONG!!! She was a big coke dealer. <

Yep. Her behavior destroyed many lives, and many families. Either Trump got bad advice on that pardon, or he just didn’t care.

Either way, it was far from his best moment.


11 posted on 05/29/2025 7:10:15 PM PDT by Leaning Right (It's morning in America. Again.)
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To: skyman

I don’t get it, either.

But, one thing in his favor is he did at least fess up and plea guilty, rather than deny it or blame it on someone else, etc.

If he robbed all 16 and was convicted or pled guilty in all 16, then why just 2 years sentence?


12 posted on 05/29/2025 7:10:40 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustmilents offered here free of charge)
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To: KevinB
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he was pardoning a Virginia sheriff sentenced to 10 years in prison on bribery charges, saying the Biden administration had politically targeted the former law enforcement officer.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was issuing a full pardon to former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was convicted in December 2024 on charges that he handed out auxiliary deputy positions for money. Jenkins, who was set to report to prison on Tuesday, disputed the accusation and conviction, saying the prosecution was motivated by his conservative views.

So what evidence do you have that the charges were true, and not contrived like they were with Trump?

13 posted on 05/29/2025 7:11:36 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: Leaning Right

But she is just a nice and kind grandma who spends her days making quilts for the homeless and brings in stray dogs.

Apparently some people believe it.


14 posted on 05/29/2025 7:15:15 PM PDT by shelterguy
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To: skyman

From the article, it didn’t sound like he was serving time for the pharmacy break-ins. Something about federal gun charges. I don’t know the details, but seems like the article was written in a way to intentionally confuse the issues. Does anyone know the true story?


15 posted on 05/29/2025 7:16:06 PM PDT by NEMDF
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To: skyman

“This just looks and smells bad.”

No kidding. MAGA is pro law & order and this won’t sit well with all the people who have supported Trump. What in the world might be the upside to pardoning a thug like this?


16 posted on 05/29/2025 7:22:51 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“Diversity is our Strength” just doesn’t carry the same message as “Death from Above”)
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To: BobL

I’m not going to reduce my comments by comparing to anyone else. And Huck Fuckabee is a RINO putz. Its not good.

Trump doesn’t need to start making unforced errors now. Thats all I am saying. Its not going to help him get other things done. Or get him support to get things done.


17 posted on 05/29/2025 7:33:34 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: shelterguy

It’s the President’s prerogative. NOTHING compares to EVERY Brandon autopen preemptive pardon and clemency.


18 posted on 05/29/2025 7:35:26 PM PDT by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

> What in the world might be the upside to pardoning a thug like this? <

I can’t think of any other reason than a naked political reason. Shore up the black vote. And as I mentioned earlier, a presidential pardon is meant to right a wrong. It’s not meant for anything else.

I’ll chalk this up to Trump getting bad advice. Because if it’s anything else… I don’t want to go there.


19 posted on 05/29/2025 7:35:36 PM PDT by Leaning Right (It's morning in America. Again.)
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To: skyman

Let’s all pretend we know the whole story. Wouldn’t want our soap boxes crushed.


20 posted on 05/29/2025 7:35:40 PM PDT by Fester Chugabrew (Are you now, or have you ever been, a Democrat?)
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