Cuban Harry self-referred “CEO of Purple Drank” said that the photos he posted of money and guns were only for show.On Monday, the rap producer, who’s real name is Harrison Garcia, was accused of being the alleged ringleader in dozens of pharmacy stickups in South Florida, told a judge during a pretrial hearing that the social media posts were only for his street reputation.The 27-year-old is known as Cuban Harry in the hip-hop industry and has associations with rappers such as Lil’ Wayne, Chris Brown, and Future, according to the Miami Herald.
“I had an image to portray to boost my followers,” Garcia stated. “It’s just the music industry.”
Garcia appeared in court for reportedly using his private Instagram account – which has 35,800 followers as of Tuesday, to set up drug purchases. He told a judge he was just using a prescription cough syrup mixed with soda – also known on the street as “lean,” “sizzurp,” or “purple drank” – and maintained he was not a dealer, despite undercover footage of him selling illegal bottles of promethazine with codeine to undercover informants.
Garcia’s trial is scheduled to begin on February 6th. A judge will determine whether jurors will hear evidence of his cooperation with detectives, leading police to an apartment and a storage unit that was filled with cash, drugs, and guns.
Meanwhile, although he confessed to using the drug and drinking a bottle in “like two days,” Garcia argued that the large stacks of cash on his Instagram weren’t associated with dealing the syrup.
“I would withdraw cash just to flex it,” he added. “It was stupid on my behalf.”