‘I don’t want to repeat this mistake’: Oakland rapper sentenced to federal prison for gun possession

Masia Hollins, 23, was charged in 2023, but later arrested in connection with a new gun case and a police chase.

OAKLAND — An East Bay rapper has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for illegally possessing a pistol found during a 2022 traffic stop, and agreed to a 16-month state prison term for possessing a gun and leading police on a chase while the federal case was pending.

Masia Hollins, 23, who goes by the stage name “Dooder,” accepted plea deals to settle both his federal and state charges. The 25-month federal prison sentence was agreed to by both Hollins’ lawyer and federal prosecutors.

Hollins’ legal problems started when he was charged with possessing a pistol found by San Ramon police during a 2022 traffic stop, where officers searched his Mercedes Benz after learning it had been used in a police chase, court records show. While the federal gun case was pending, Hollins was released from jail, racked up an arrest warrant for allegedly running away from a halfway house, led Oakland police on a chase while armed, then got arrested after crashing his car, prosecutors said.

But despite these serious crimes, Hollins wrote in a letter to the court that he is looking forward forward to turning over a new leaf.

“I know that doesn’t make it right what I did, but I want to the court to know I had a firearm because of fear, not to be aggressive towards anyone,” Hollins wrote in a letter to the court, which was published by his attorney in a sentencing memo. He later added, “I don’t want to repeat this mistake, and the way I am going to do that is to try to stop being in places and with people where I fear people harming me.”

Hollins’ sentencing order, handed down by U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam, includes an order that he not associate with gang members or wear insignia related to the Acorn/Kane City Stain City gang, a “KCSC” tattoo on his arm notwithstanding. He also must complete a three-year supervised release term after he is freed from prison, records show.