Post by hi224 on Jul 20, 2019 6:15:08 GMT
This is the nearly 15 year old case of the unresolved murder of one of underground hip-hop's most popular artists. This case is intriguing on it's own but has various connections to celebrities, the underworld, and other high profile or unresolved crimes, one of which turns out to be incredibly personal to me. I did my best to weed out the hearsay and stick to what is known fact. There are a ton of rumors and conflicting accounts and timelines. I did my best.
Mac Dre, real name Andre Hicks, born July 5, 1970, may be a familiar name to you. The Vallejo, CA native made a name for himself in the San Francisco Bay Area at just 18 with his single "Too Hard for the Fucking Radio" in 1989. As his career took shape, he branched out to nearby cities, and to other avenues of earning cash.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Dre
Mac Dre and his Romper Room Records associates didn't just rap about daring heists, brazen robberies, and gunplay. They lived it. The gang wound up being prosecuted for a series of over 40 bank and business robberies, including a string of pizza shop robberies that were featured on Unsolved Mysteries Season 8, Episode 8. Season 3, Episode 9 of American Gangster also details this part of the crew's lives, careers, and crimes. The allegations against Dre and close associate J. Diggs (Jamal Diggs) were so persistent that Mac Dre called a detective out by name on his song "Punk Police." He even recorded an entire album, "Back N Da Hood" over the Fresno County Jail phone while awaiting trial. Mac Dre, J. Diggs, and other members of the label/gang would be convicted and sent to federal prison for various terms. After his conviction, the FBI called Bay Area station KMEL and requested "I Fought the Law" and dedicated it to Mac Dre. That all really happened, folks. The trial was featured in Complex's piece on rap's biggest trials.
www.sfgate.com/news/article/Cops-nab-53-in-series-of-robberies-3094983.php
www.complex.com/music/2012/10/the-30-biggest-criminal-trials-in-rap-history/mac-dre
Unsolved Mysteries: youtu.be/mIR9sMIHvAc American Gangster: m.imdb.com/title/tt1470181/
Upon release from federal custody Mac Dre and his associates rebranded into Thizz Entertainment in 1999, starting the "Hyphy" subgenre of rap. This is when their music started to become nationally recognized, particularly in my hometown of Kansas City, MO. I grew up listening to their music and their story is legend around here. We still have a close connection with artists from the Bay Area, and vice versa. As long of a culture of indie rap as this city has, our history of violence is much longer. The year Mac Dre was killed here was one of our bloodiest. In fact, serial killer Terry Blair had just been captured a few months prior after terrorizing the Prospect corridor and murdering at least 6 women.
Dre would get caught in this culture of violence in the early morning hours of Nov.1st, 2004. After performing a show in neighboring Kansas City, KS on Friday Oct. 29th, Mac Dre, Keak Da Sneak, Tha Jacka, Messy Marv, Yukmouth, and other notable Bay Area artists attended an after party. It is alleged that a minor argument broke out between Mac Dre and the show's promoter, who has never been publicly named. American Gangster also describes an "altercation" between associates of Tone and Dre that night, but this is not really supported by witnesses. Keak Da Sneak would actually tell VladTV later that he and Mac Mall had an altercation, and they are both associates of Mac Dre. J. Diggs, who was not present on account of Federal probation conditions but was a close friend and partner of Dre, does not put much significance on this disagreement. Yukmouth would tell VladTV that they did indeed get paid and also minimized the issue as a lower than expected turnout for the show. Law enforcement later would find this disagreement with the promoter much more significant. Yukmouth and Keak would say the atmosphere in KC was "tense."
J. Diggs interview: youtu.be/F9EqoEGhb2E
Yulmouth interview: youtu.be/cwmFxYG8CtQ
Keak Da Sneak interview: youtu.be/xl85-z4z23A
Dre had decided to stay in Kansas City after most of the other artists chose to leave town and had booked a club walk-through for Halloween night. After leaving this engagement Dre and an unnamed driver (searched hard) were heading Northbound on U.S. 71 Highway, now known officially as I-49. Just past the overpass above 85th street, a stolen black Infiniti "G36" pulled along the driver's side and opened fire with what is believed to be an assault rifle. The van Dre was riding in plowed across a grass median and into oncoming southbound lanes, where it would roll over and come to rest on it's wheels at the bottom of an embankment. Mac Dre was thrown from the wreckage, but was determined to have died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. He was 34 years old.
m.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A-deadly-tale-of-underground-rap-Vallejo-s-Mac-2592387.php
Curiously, I cannot find how law enforcement or the press came to know the status and model of the suspect vehicle. Only that SF Gate article linked above has this detail. Even more curiously, that's not a real car. There is no such thing as a G36. There is a G35 and G37, but Infiniti never made a G36 that I've ever heard of. Also, not only is the identity of the driver unknown, there is no information on the extent of his injuries. A Billboard article claims the man crawled from the accident site and sought help on foot, but no information can be found on whether he was shot (Wikipedia says the driver called 911). This is important as shots were fired into the driver's side, but struck the passenger several times. Authorities would note a lack of cooperation from the unnamed driver/victim and Dre's known associates.
www.billboard.com/articles/news/65810/rapper-mac-dre-killed-in-kansas-city
Infiniti G model line: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiniti_G-series_(Q40/Q60)
No shooter or motive has ever been clearly identified. But that did not stop this case from taking even more lives based on rumor.
After Dre's murder, those rumors swirled like a tornado in the heartland, as they tend to in such a small but rough city. A local rapper by the name of Fat Tone, real name Anthony Watkins, quickly found himself at the center of this whirlwind. Possibly due to his presence at the show and the reputation he had carved in Kansas City in prior years.
Fat Tone was once arrested and charged with the murder of pregnant 17 year old Shameka Posey and her unborn child, a tragic crime that technically remains unsolved. He was released after 9 months once charges were dropped due to uncooperative witnesses. He was also accused in several shootings and robberies and had ties to the infamous 51st Street Crips, even allegedly earning a leadership position after a turf battle with convicted gang member and killer Rashawn Long, a former 51st Crips shotcaller. Long previously did time for a 2001 murder, leading to Tone's rise in the ranks during that time, and Long is currently in federal custody for a lot of bad stuff. As a kid, we heard many stories about Tone and the Filthy 50s. Nothing was ever proved in court, but if you listened to his music or lived in KC at the time, you know he wasn't one of our most upstanding citizens.
Pitch KC profile of Fat Tone (Cannot find part 2): www.thepitchkc.com/news/article/20606895/tone-death-first-of-two-parts
Brief mention of Shameka Posey: m.lasvegassun.com/news/2005/may/25/police-slayings-may-be-tied-to-gangster-warfare/
Rashawn Long: www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article63070377.html
This bravado and reputation did Tone no favors when questions about his connections to Dre's murder came up. According to many of their associates, including J. Diggs, neither man had an issue with each other and Tone was the victim of talking streets. He most likely had nothing to do with it, given a lack of motive and a positive prior history with Dre's associates C-Bo and Killa Tay. Tone had, however, been shot in the Westport area of KC when he was 22 while riding in a car with artists associated with Mac Dre, such as Messy Marv and Killa Tay. Tone would put a picture of himself in the hospital bed, holding up a middle finger, on the cover of his very next album. He would also utilize local news reports in his songs on the album. This shooting is likely the genesis of rumors that indicated Tone, along with rumors that he admitted to the killing on a song. The exact opposite was true with Tone criticizing his accusers and proclaiming his admiration for Dre. The Westport shooting that injured Fat Tone also remains unsolved.
www.thepitchkc.com/news/article/20610409/who-shot-fat-tone
Not only did unofficial sources clear Fat Tone of Mac Dre's murder, so did the authorities. Lead investigator Everett Babcock even called Tone into police HQ to warn him of likely retaliation. I was shocked to see Babcock's name pop up in my research, as he was the detective that would take lead on my father's death 2 months after Dre's murder.
By official accounts Fat Tone was cleared in Mac Dre's death, but the opinion of the street court differed wildly at the time. Rappers and promoters (as well as co-conspirators and close associates of Mac Dre) Mac Minister and Corleone, real names Andre Dow and Jason Mathis, respectively, were among those that blamed Tone and would retaliate in Las Vegas on May 23rd, 2005.
Fat Tone and Jermaine "Cowboy" Akins, a federal fugitive, were shot multiple times by an AK-47 and left in an undeveloped cul-de-sac just 5 blocks from a property rented by Corleone. Cowboy was found in the street and Tone in a 1992 Toyota Tercel. There were rumors at the time that Tone had been castrated, and these would be unfounded. Tone was just 24 and Cowboy just 22.
Mac Minister and Corleone had lured Tone to Las Vegas on the premise of meeting Snoop Dogg, as Minister had promoted a show for Snoop at the MGM Grand. Allegedly, Tone became irritated with Minister after repeated requests for cash and jewellery. He felt they were squeezing him. After the show the Tercel and a white 2000 Pontiac Sunfire would drive to the murder scene, Cowboy and Tone were probably under the impression they were going to Corleone's rental home nearby. Only the Pontiac would leave.
The Pontiac was recovered, burnt out, in Mac Dre and Mac Minister's hometown of Vallejo, CA the next day. The Tercel was found to have been loaned to Minister's girlfriend by a Berkely area activist. The Pontiac was found to be owned by 21 year old Lee Danae Laurenson from small Payton, Utah, a call girl who "worked" for Minister in Las Vegas.
I want to stop and make it clear that Ms. Posey and Ms. Laurenson are the true victims of this sordid, winding post. Laurenson was abused and trafficked by Minister, and ultimately found dead with a single gunshot wound in her skull just 2 days after the November 2, 2005 indictment of both Minister and Corleone. Laurenson had bought the ammunition used in Tone and Cowboy's homicides. When approached by investigators before the indictment, she refused to cooperate. That did not help her, sadly. Nobody has ever been convicted for her murder, as far as I can find.
www.deseretnews.com/article/635189236/Rap-arrest-may-shed-light-on-Utahns-death.html
Mac Minister stayed on the lam for nearly a year after the indictment, even recording the intro to The Game's "Doctor's Advocate" while a fugitive. (Fuck Game for that one) He was featured on America's Most Wanted and became AMW Direct Result Capture #879 after his arrest on March 2, 2006. He and Corleone would each be given four life sentences without the possibility of parole for Tone and Cowboy's killings. Minister has given interviews to VladTV and Siccness.net from prison, but mostly talks himself up as "real" and discusses his "framing" due to his "celebrity" and mutual connections. I won't bother linking it. He is a text book narcissist.
www.mtv.com/news/1591311/west-coast-rapper-mac-minister-found-guilty-of-murder
Some local news reports about Fat Tone, but mostly rapping: youtu.be/2fN0CFFpXsw
Tone's death would result in a vacuum of gang leadership in Kansas City that indirectly reverberated through the illicit trades and led to much more violent crime, including strings of robberies and shootings. His own aunt, Jerry Watkins, was shot while riding in a car by someone in a passing vehicle. Very little online information exists, but her case also appears to be unresolved.
Jerry Watkins obit: www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/jerry-watkins-obituary?pid=14261017
Another one of these indirect results was an increase in violent crime by the 51st Street Crips and other Crip sets after the loss of their 2 prior leaders Rashawn Long and Fat Tone. Some members of the 51st Street Crips chose to partner with the 12th Street Crips, creating "5 Ace Deuce." A partnership that would lay the foundation for the crimes of Shauntay Henderson, the alleged gang Queenpin who spent just less than 24 hours on the FBI's ten most wanted list. 5 Ace Deuce was short-lived but brutal and left a lasting impact in certain neighborhoods here. 2004-2006 were incredibly violent years for anyone who lived in our rougher neighborhoods. Many of the members of the 51st Street and 12th Street Crips have passed away or been sentenced to very long prison terms. Many of those homicides, frankly too many to list, remain unsolved. The fallout was long and hard. I was a teen at the time and remember how crazy things got around here very well.
Spike in crime after Tone's death: www.kmbc.com/article/death-of-fat-tone-leads-to-crime-spike-kmbc-reports/3640754
Shauntay Henderson: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shauntay_Henderson
The Bay Area also felt blowback. Obviously, Mac Dre was the heart of the music scene there and his death impacted a lot of fans and artists. Although almost certainly unrelated, several other artists connected to Dre have been killed in unresolved cases, including Tha Jacka, who was with Dre earlier that night and got his start in the group Mob Figaz thanks to Mac Dre and C-BO.
Dominic Newton, aka Tha Jacka, age 37, was struck by what is presumed to be a stray bullet after exiting a van near 94th and MacArthur in Oakland, CA on Feb 2, 2015. I got to hang with Jack just a few months before and he was a really kind and insightful dude. His death was just as impactful as Dre's. It remains unsolved. Johnny Ca$h ( Johnny Castaneda Jr.) was shot in the head on March 30, 2007 at the age of 25 in a Vallejo apartment complex. He was signed to Thizz Ent and was a protege of Dre's. His homicide is also unresolved. Pretty Black (Ayoola Odumuyiwa) was shot and killed in 2008 in East Oakland, another unsolved killing of an artist that worked with Thizz Ent at some point, although he ran his own label. Killa Keise (Markeise Henry), who worked with associates of Dre's, was shot and killed on I-80 in Vallejo in 2011, and it is, you called it, unsolved.
In April 2012, Thizz Ent became the focus of a federal drug investigation centered around an ecstasy ring. J-Diggs, PSD, and many other former associates of Mac Dre's would be sentenced to federal terms, with J-Diggs even becoming cellmates with Corleone at High Desert State Prison in Nevada for a short time. Mac Minister is also housed there.
Thizz Ent drug bust: archives.fbi.gov/archives/sacramento/press-releases/2012/vallejo-based-rappers-arrested-as-part-of-major-investigation-of-drug-trafficking-throughout-the-united-states
www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/09/09/220682752/federal-drug-case-ensnares-the-home-of-hyphy
Tha Jacka: www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Rapper-the-Jacka-Shot-Dead-in-Oakland-Police-290652501.html
Johnny Ca$h: www.eastbaytimes.com/2007/03/30/richmond-rapper-dies-of-gunshot-wounds
Pretty Black: m.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2008/06/06/was-san-leandro-rapper-threatened-before-his-death
Killa Keise: www.sfweekly.com/music/bay-area-rapper-killa-keise-was-found-shot-to-death-by-the-side-of-interstate-80-last-night/
So what happened and why did at least 4 people die as a direct result of it? Who killed Mac Dre and set off a massive chain of events that lasted years and scarred many, many lives in at least 4 states? Was this connected to his criminal past or something he may have been into at the time? Was this really a dispute over what Babcock notes is a relatively small sum of money to these guys? Why would the promoter do that if everyone got paid? That seems to be Babcock's conclusion, that the disagreement led to the shooting, but it doesn't add up. Was it another artist? Mac Minister and Mac Dre had issues with many, including E-40 after a fight at the 2000 Source Awards. Did someone take a beef too far? Was it random? In KC, honestly, that’s always possible, but road rage was ruled out and everyone, including cops, say it was targeted.
I don't think we, the fans and public, will ever know the answers to any of these unresolved cases. This city doesn't close many homicides and has a ton of them each year. Our department is also less than stellar with their reputation. This crime took place in an environment where people take things into their own hands and don't talk. VladTV blatantly said he knows who the prime suspect is based off of various interviews but won't reveal the name, as the individual has died. Investigators haven't named anyone publicly, and the informant that local activist Alonzo Washington claimed to have found never materialized beyond a single press conference in 2011 to say he had found said informant.
www.mtv.com/news/2496597/informant-may-hold-clue-to-solving-mac-dre-murder-case/
I find J. Diggs and Yukmouth to display some pretty telling body language when the subject of the killer's identity pops up in those videos. They get cagey. Maybe they know something but the code of the streets dictates shut mouths? Diggs goes into a lot of detail on this stuff in his "Rompaugrophy" song series, and his interviews also confirm that they were out here head hunting after Dre's death. He even tells Vlad that everyone alleged to be connected has since passed on. Did they find out? Will we get to find out? Can we ever even get consistent accounts and timelines or just more smoke and mirrors? And is there a fuller story that somehow gets even crazier?
Mac Dre, real name Andre Hicks, born July 5, 1970, may be a familiar name to you. The Vallejo, CA native made a name for himself in the San Francisco Bay Area at just 18 with his single "Too Hard for the Fucking Radio" in 1989. As his career took shape, he branched out to nearby cities, and to other avenues of earning cash.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Dre
Mac Dre and his Romper Room Records associates didn't just rap about daring heists, brazen robberies, and gunplay. They lived it. The gang wound up being prosecuted for a series of over 40 bank and business robberies, including a string of pizza shop robberies that were featured on Unsolved Mysteries Season 8, Episode 8. Season 3, Episode 9 of American Gangster also details this part of the crew's lives, careers, and crimes. The allegations against Dre and close associate J. Diggs (Jamal Diggs) were so persistent that Mac Dre called a detective out by name on his song "Punk Police." He even recorded an entire album, "Back N Da Hood" over the Fresno County Jail phone while awaiting trial. Mac Dre, J. Diggs, and other members of the label/gang would be convicted and sent to federal prison for various terms. After his conviction, the FBI called Bay Area station KMEL and requested "I Fought the Law" and dedicated it to Mac Dre. That all really happened, folks. The trial was featured in Complex's piece on rap's biggest trials.
www.sfgate.com/news/article/Cops-nab-53-in-series-of-robberies-3094983.php
www.complex.com/music/2012/10/the-30-biggest-criminal-trials-in-rap-history/mac-dre
Unsolved Mysteries: youtu.be/mIR9sMIHvAc American Gangster: m.imdb.com/title/tt1470181/
Upon release from federal custody Mac Dre and his associates rebranded into Thizz Entertainment in 1999, starting the "Hyphy" subgenre of rap. This is when their music started to become nationally recognized, particularly in my hometown of Kansas City, MO. I grew up listening to their music and their story is legend around here. We still have a close connection with artists from the Bay Area, and vice versa. As long of a culture of indie rap as this city has, our history of violence is much longer. The year Mac Dre was killed here was one of our bloodiest. In fact, serial killer Terry Blair had just been captured a few months prior after terrorizing the Prospect corridor and murdering at least 6 women.
Dre would get caught in this culture of violence in the early morning hours of Nov.1st, 2004. After performing a show in neighboring Kansas City, KS on Friday Oct. 29th, Mac Dre, Keak Da Sneak, Tha Jacka, Messy Marv, Yukmouth, and other notable Bay Area artists attended an after party. It is alleged that a minor argument broke out between Mac Dre and the show's promoter, who has never been publicly named. American Gangster also describes an "altercation" between associates of Tone and Dre that night, but this is not really supported by witnesses. Keak Da Sneak would actually tell VladTV later that he and Mac Mall had an altercation, and they are both associates of Mac Dre. J. Diggs, who was not present on account of Federal probation conditions but was a close friend and partner of Dre, does not put much significance on this disagreement. Yukmouth would tell VladTV that they did indeed get paid and also minimized the issue as a lower than expected turnout for the show. Law enforcement later would find this disagreement with the promoter much more significant. Yukmouth and Keak would say the atmosphere in KC was "tense."
J. Diggs interview: youtu.be/F9EqoEGhb2E
Yulmouth interview: youtu.be/cwmFxYG8CtQ
Keak Da Sneak interview: youtu.be/xl85-z4z23A
Dre had decided to stay in Kansas City after most of the other artists chose to leave town and had booked a club walk-through for Halloween night. After leaving this engagement Dre and an unnamed driver (searched hard) were heading Northbound on U.S. 71 Highway, now known officially as I-49. Just past the overpass above 85th street, a stolen black Infiniti "G36" pulled along the driver's side and opened fire with what is believed to be an assault rifle. The van Dre was riding in plowed across a grass median and into oncoming southbound lanes, where it would roll over and come to rest on it's wheels at the bottom of an embankment. Mac Dre was thrown from the wreckage, but was determined to have died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. He was 34 years old.
m.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A-deadly-tale-of-underground-rap-Vallejo-s-Mac-2592387.php
Curiously, I cannot find how law enforcement or the press came to know the status and model of the suspect vehicle. Only that SF Gate article linked above has this detail. Even more curiously, that's not a real car. There is no such thing as a G36. There is a G35 and G37, but Infiniti never made a G36 that I've ever heard of. Also, not only is the identity of the driver unknown, there is no information on the extent of his injuries. A Billboard article claims the man crawled from the accident site and sought help on foot, but no information can be found on whether he was shot (Wikipedia says the driver called 911). This is important as shots were fired into the driver's side, but struck the passenger several times. Authorities would note a lack of cooperation from the unnamed driver/victim and Dre's known associates.
www.billboard.com/articles/news/65810/rapper-mac-dre-killed-in-kansas-city
Infiniti G model line: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiniti_G-series_(Q40/Q60)
No shooter or motive has ever been clearly identified. But that did not stop this case from taking even more lives based on rumor.
After Dre's murder, those rumors swirled like a tornado in the heartland, as they tend to in such a small but rough city. A local rapper by the name of Fat Tone, real name Anthony Watkins, quickly found himself at the center of this whirlwind. Possibly due to his presence at the show and the reputation he had carved in Kansas City in prior years.
Fat Tone was once arrested and charged with the murder of pregnant 17 year old Shameka Posey and her unborn child, a tragic crime that technically remains unsolved. He was released after 9 months once charges were dropped due to uncooperative witnesses. He was also accused in several shootings and robberies and had ties to the infamous 51st Street Crips, even allegedly earning a leadership position after a turf battle with convicted gang member and killer Rashawn Long, a former 51st Crips shotcaller. Long previously did time for a 2001 murder, leading to Tone's rise in the ranks during that time, and Long is currently in federal custody for a lot of bad stuff. As a kid, we heard many stories about Tone and the Filthy 50s. Nothing was ever proved in court, but if you listened to his music or lived in KC at the time, you know he wasn't one of our most upstanding citizens.
Pitch KC profile of Fat Tone (Cannot find part 2): www.thepitchkc.com/news/article/20606895/tone-death-first-of-two-parts
Brief mention of Shameka Posey: m.lasvegassun.com/news/2005/may/25/police-slayings-may-be-tied-to-gangster-warfare/
Rashawn Long: www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article63070377.html
This bravado and reputation did Tone no favors when questions about his connections to Dre's murder came up. According to many of their associates, including J. Diggs, neither man had an issue with each other and Tone was the victim of talking streets. He most likely had nothing to do with it, given a lack of motive and a positive prior history with Dre's associates C-Bo and Killa Tay. Tone had, however, been shot in the Westport area of KC when he was 22 while riding in a car with artists associated with Mac Dre, such as Messy Marv and Killa Tay. Tone would put a picture of himself in the hospital bed, holding up a middle finger, on the cover of his very next album. He would also utilize local news reports in his songs on the album. This shooting is likely the genesis of rumors that indicated Tone, along with rumors that he admitted to the killing on a song. The exact opposite was true with Tone criticizing his accusers and proclaiming his admiration for Dre. The Westport shooting that injured Fat Tone also remains unsolved.
www.thepitchkc.com/news/article/20610409/who-shot-fat-tone
Not only did unofficial sources clear Fat Tone of Mac Dre's murder, so did the authorities. Lead investigator Everett Babcock even called Tone into police HQ to warn him of likely retaliation. I was shocked to see Babcock's name pop up in my research, as he was the detective that would take lead on my father's death 2 months after Dre's murder.
By official accounts Fat Tone was cleared in Mac Dre's death, but the opinion of the street court differed wildly at the time. Rappers and promoters (as well as co-conspirators and close associates of Mac Dre) Mac Minister and Corleone, real names Andre Dow and Jason Mathis, respectively, were among those that blamed Tone and would retaliate in Las Vegas on May 23rd, 2005.
Fat Tone and Jermaine "Cowboy" Akins, a federal fugitive, were shot multiple times by an AK-47 and left in an undeveloped cul-de-sac just 5 blocks from a property rented by Corleone. Cowboy was found in the street and Tone in a 1992 Toyota Tercel. There were rumors at the time that Tone had been castrated, and these would be unfounded. Tone was just 24 and Cowboy just 22.
Mac Minister and Corleone had lured Tone to Las Vegas on the premise of meeting Snoop Dogg, as Minister had promoted a show for Snoop at the MGM Grand. Allegedly, Tone became irritated with Minister after repeated requests for cash and jewellery. He felt they were squeezing him. After the show the Tercel and a white 2000 Pontiac Sunfire would drive to the murder scene, Cowboy and Tone were probably under the impression they were going to Corleone's rental home nearby. Only the Pontiac would leave.
The Pontiac was recovered, burnt out, in Mac Dre and Mac Minister's hometown of Vallejo, CA the next day. The Tercel was found to have been loaned to Minister's girlfriend by a Berkely area activist. The Pontiac was found to be owned by 21 year old Lee Danae Laurenson from small Payton, Utah, a call girl who "worked" for Minister in Las Vegas.
I want to stop and make it clear that Ms. Posey and Ms. Laurenson are the true victims of this sordid, winding post. Laurenson was abused and trafficked by Minister, and ultimately found dead with a single gunshot wound in her skull just 2 days after the November 2, 2005 indictment of both Minister and Corleone. Laurenson had bought the ammunition used in Tone and Cowboy's homicides. When approached by investigators before the indictment, she refused to cooperate. That did not help her, sadly. Nobody has ever been convicted for her murder, as far as I can find.
www.deseretnews.com/article/635189236/Rap-arrest-may-shed-light-on-Utahns-death.html
Mac Minister stayed on the lam for nearly a year after the indictment, even recording the intro to The Game's "Doctor's Advocate" while a fugitive. (Fuck Game for that one) He was featured on America's Most Wanted and became AMW Direct Result Capture #879 after his arrest on March 2, 2006. He and Corleone would each be given four life sentences without the possibility of parole for Tone and Cowboy's killings. Minister has given interviews to VladTV and Siccness.net from prison, but mostly talks himself up as "real" and discusses his "framing" due to his "celebrity" and mutual connections. I won't bother linking it. He is a text book narcissist.
www.mtv.com/news/1591311/west-coast-rapper-mac-minister-found-guilty-of-murder
Some local news reports about Fat Tone, but mostly rapping: youtu.be/2fN0CFFpXsw
Tone's death would result in a vacuum of gang leadership in Kansas City that indirectly reverberated through the illicit trades and led to much more violent crime, including strings of robberies and shootings. His own aunt, Jerry Watkins, was shot while riding in a car by someone in a passing vehicle. Very little online information exists, but her case also appears to be unresolved.
Jerry Watkins obit: www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/jerry-watkins-obituary?pid=14261017
Another one of these indirect results was an increase in violent crime by the 51st Street Crips and other Crip sets after the loss of their 2 prior leaders Rashawn Long and Fat Tone. Some members of the 51st Street Crips chose to partner with the 12th Street Crips, creating "5 Ace Deuce." A partnership that would lay the foundation for the crimes of Shauntay Henderson, the alleged gang Queenpin who spent just less than 24 hours on the FBI's ten most wanted list. 5 Ace Deuce was short-lived but brutal and left a lasting impact in certain neighborhoods here. 2004-2006 were incredibly violent years for anyone who lived in our rougher neighborhoods. Many of the members of the 51st Street and 12th Street Crips have passed away or been sentenced to very long prison terms. Many of those homicides, frankly too many to list, remain unsolved. The fallout was long and hard. I was a teen at the time and remember how crazy things got around here very well.
Spike in crime after Tone's death: www.kmbc.com/article/death-of-fat-tone-leads-to-crime-spike-kmbc-reports/3640754
Shauntay Henderson: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shauntay_Henderson
The Bay Area also felt blowback. Obviously, Mac Dre was the heart of the music scene there and his death impacted a lot of fans and artists. Although almost certainly unrelated, several other artists connected to Dre have been killed in unresolved cases, including Tha Jacka, who was with Dre earlier that night and got his start in the group Mob Figaz thanks to Mac Dre and C-BO.
Dominic Newton, aka Tha Jacka, age 37, was struck by what is presumed to be a stray bullet after exiting a van near 94th and MacArthur in Oakland, CA on Feb 2, 2015. I got to hang with Jack just a few months before and he was a really kind and insightful dude. His death was just as impactful as Dre's. It remains unsolved. Johnny Ca$h ( Johnny Castaneda Jr.) was shot in the head on March 30, 2007 at the age of 25 in a Vallejo apartment complex. He was signed to Thizz Ent and was a protege of Dre's. His homicide is also unresolved. Pretty Black (Ayoola Odumuyiwa) was shot and killed in 2008 in East Oakland, another unsolved killing of an artist that worked with Thizz Ent at some point, although he ran his own label. Killa Keise (Markeise Henry), who worked with associates of Dre's, was shot and killed on I-80 in Vallejo in 2011, and it is, you called it, unsolved.
In April 2012, Thizz Ent became the focus of a federal drug investigation centered around an ecstasy ring. J-Diggs, PSD, and many other former associates of Mac Dre's would be sentenced to federal terms, with J-Diggs even becoming cellmates with Corleone at High Desert State Prison in Nevada for a short time. Mac Minister is also housed there.
Thizz Ent drug bust: archives.fbi.gov/archives/sacramento/press-releases/2012/vallejo-based-rappers-arrested-as-part-of-major-investigation-of-drug-trafficking-throughout-the-united-states
www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/09/09/220682752/federal-drug-case-ensnares-the-home-of-hyphy
Tha Jacka: www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Rapper-the-Jacka-Shot-Dead-in-Oakland-Police-290652501.html
Johnny Ca$h: www.eastbaytimes.com/2007/03/30/richmond-rapper-dies-of-gunshot-wounds
Pretty Black: m.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2008/06/06/was-san-leandro-rapper-threatened-before-his-death
Killa Keise: www.sfweekly.com/music/bay-area-rapper-killa-keise-was-found-shot-to-death-by-the-side-of-interstate-80-last-night/
So what happened and why did at least 4 people die as a direct result of it? Who killed Mac Dre and set off a massive chain of events that lasted years and scarred many, many lives in at least 4 states? Was this connected to his criminal past or something he may have been into at the time? Was this really a dispute over what Babcock notes is a relatively small sum of money to these guys? Why would the promoter do that if everyone got paid? That seems to be Babcock's conclusion, that the disagreement led to the shooting, but it doesn't add up. Was it another artist? Mac Minister and Mac Dre had issues with many, including E-40 after a fight at the 2000 Source Awards. Did someone take a beef too far? Was it random? In KC, honestly, that’s always possible, but road rage was ruled out and everyone, including cops, say it was targeted.
I don't think we, the fans and public, will ever know the answers to any of these unresolved cases. This city doesn't close many homicides and has a ton of them each year. Our department is also less than stellar with their reputation. This crime took place in an environment where people take things into their own hands and don't talk. VladTV blatantly said he knows who the prime suspect is based off of various interviews but won't reveal the name, as the individual has died. Investigators haven't named anyone publicly, and the informant that local activist Alonzo Washington claimed to have found never materialized beyond a single press conference in 2011 to say he had found said informant.
www.mtv.com/news/2496597/informant-may-hold-clue-to-solving-mac-dre-murder-case/
I find J. Diggs and Yukmouth to display some pretty telling body language when the subject of the killer's identity pops up in those videos. They get cagey. Maybe they know something but the code of the streets dictates shut mouths? Diggs goes into a lot of detail on this stuff in his "Rompaugrophy" song series, and his interviews also confirm that they were out here head hunting after Dre's death. He even tells Vlad that everyone alleged to be connected has since passed on. Did they find out? Will we get to find out? Can we ever even get consistent accounts and timelines or just more smoke and mirrors? And is there a fuller story that somehow gets even crazier?