‘Whip/Nae Nae' rapper Silentó sentenced to 30 years for killing cousin
MANY may recall the viral dance anthem "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)," the 2015 hit that propelled Atlanta rapper Ricky Lamar Hawk, better known as Silentó, to international fame.
Now, the 27-year-old artist has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty but mentally ill to charges connected to the 2021 shooting death of his cousin, 34-year-old Frederick Rooks III.
As part of a plea agreement, a murder charge against Hawk was dropped.
However, he pleaded guilty to several other charges, including voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and concealing a death.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston confirmed the sentence in a statement issued on Wednesday, June 11. According to DeKalb County police, officers responded to reports of gunfire at around 3.37am on January 21, 2021 in the Panthersville area, near Decatur, Georgia.
Upon arrival, they discovered Rooks lying at the intersection of Deep Shoals Circle and Corners Crossing, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services. Investigators recovered 10 spent shell casings near his body.
Surveillance footage and GPS data later placed Hawk's white BMW SUV at the scene. Ballistic tests confirmed that a gun found in his possession matched the weapon used in the shooting.
A relative had earlier informed police that the rapper had picked up Rooks from a friend's house shortly before the incident. Security footage from a neighbour's home captured the same vehicle fleeing the area at high speed shortly after gunshots were heard.
Hawk confessed to the shooting on February 1, 2021, following his arrest.
Hawk's defence team and publicist pointed to his long standing mental health struggles as a major contributing factor. The rapper has previously spoken about battling depression, even appearing on the US talk show The Doctors in 2019 to share his experience with suicidal thoughts and the pressure of sudden fame.
'I've been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life.
'Depression doesn't leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure. And while everybody's looking at you, they're also judging you.
'I don't know if I can truly be happy, I don't know if these demons will ever go away,' the artist said.
His publicist confirmed that he had attempted suicide in 2020 and was grappling with serious mental health issues in the lead-up to the killing.
In the meantime, Judge Courtney L. Johnson presided over the case at the DeKalb County Superior Court.
While Hawk received a 30-year prison term, Rooks' family expressed disappointment, believing the sentence to be too lenient in light of the severity of the crime.
Before the killing, Hawk had several run-ins with the law. In 2020, he was arrested for reckless driving and for breaking into a home while wielding a hatchet.
In Aug of the same year, he was detained in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge. Just a day later, he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly entering a residence uninvited and swinging a hatchet at two individuals.
Hawk's legal team has called on the public to show compassion and support for the troubled rapper and his family, asking for prayers and positive energy during what they described as an extremely difficult period.
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Rapper Silento gets 30 years after pleading guilty to killing his cousin
Silento (pic), the Atlanta rapper known for his hit song Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) , pleaded guilty but mentally ill Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the 2021 shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin. The 27-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a statement. Hawk also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a crime and concealing the death of another. A murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. DeKalb County police found Frederick Rooks III shot in the leg and face in the early morning hours of Jan 21, 2021 outside a home in a suburban area near Decatur. Police said the found 10 bullet casings near Rooks' body, and security video from a nearby home showed a white BMW SUV speeding away shortly after the gunshots. A family member of Rooks told police that Silento had picked up Rooks in a white BMW SUV, and GPS data and other cameras put the vehicle at the site of the shooting. Silento confessed about 10 days later after he was arrested, police said. Ballistics testing matched the bullet casings to a gun that Silentó had when he was arrested, authorities said. Rooks' brothers and sisters told DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson before sentencing that Silento should have gotten a longer sentence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The rapper was a high school junior in suburban Atlanta in 2015 when he released Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) and watched it skyrocket into a dance craze. Silentóo made multiple other albums, but said in an interview with the medical talk show The Doctors in 2019 that he struggled with depression and had grown up in a family where he witnessed mental illness and violence. "I've been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life,' he said in 2019. "Depression doesn't leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure,' Silento said then, urging others to get help. 'And while everybody's looking at you, they're also judging you. "I don't know if I can truly be happy, I don't know if these demons will ever go away.' Silento had been struggling in the months before the arrest. His publicist, Chanel Hudson, has said he had tried to kill himself in 2020. In August 2020, Silento was arrested in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge. The next day, the Los Angeles Police Department charged him with assault with a deadly weapon after witnesses said he entered a home where he didn't know anyone looking for his girlfriend and swung a hatchet at two people before he was disarmed. In October 2020, Silento was arrested after police said they clocked him driving 143 miles per hour (230 kilometers per hour) on Interstate 85 in DeKalb County. Hudson said at the time of Silento's arrest in the killing of Rooks that he had been "suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses." – AP
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‘Whip/Nae Nae' rapper Silentó sentenced to 30 years for killing cousin
MANY may recall the viral dance anthem "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)," the 2015 hit that propelled Atlanta rapper Ricky Lamar Hawk, better known as Silentó, to international fame. Now, the 27-year-old artist has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty but mentally ill to charges connected to the 2021 shooting death of his cousin, 34-year-old Frederick Rooks III. As part of a plea agreement, a murder charge against Hawk was dropped. However, he pleaded guilty to several other charges, including voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and concealing a death. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston confirmed the sentence in a statement issued on Wednesday, June 11. According to DeKalb County police, officers responded to reports of gunfire at around 3.37am on January 21, 2021 in the Panthersville area, near Decatur, Georgia. Upon arrival, they discovered Rooks lying at the intersection of Deep Shoals Circle and Corners Crossing, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services. Investigators recovered 10 spent shell casings near his body. Surveillance footage and GPS data later placed Hawk's white BMW SUV at the scene. Ballistic tests confirmed that a gun found in his possession matched the weapon used in the shooting. A relative had earlier informed police that the rapper had picked up Rooks from a friend's house shortly before the incident. Security footage from a neighbour's home captured the same vehicle fleeing the area at high speed shortly after gunshots were heard. Hawk confessed to the shooting on February 1, 2021, following his arrest. Hawk's defence team and publicist pointed to his long standing mental health struggles as a major contributing factor. The rapper has previously spoken about battling depression, even appearing on the US talk show The Doctors in 2019 to share his experience with suicidal thoughts and the pressure of sudden fame. 'I've been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life. 'Depression doesn't leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure. And while everybody's looking at you, they're also judging you. 'I don't know if I can truly be happy, I don't know if these demons will ever go away,' the artist said. His publicist confirmed that he had attempted suicide in 2020 and was grappling with serious mental health issues in the lead-up to the killing. In the meantime, Judge Courtney L. Johnson presided over the case at the DeKalb County Superior Court. While Hawk received a 30-year prison term, Rooks' family expressed disappointment, believing the sentence to be too lenient in light of the severity of the crime. Before the killing, Hawk had several run-ins with the law. In 2020, he was arrested for reckless driving and for breaking into a home while wielding a hatchet. In Aug of the same year, he was detained in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge. Just a day later, he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly entering a residence uninvited and swinging a hatchet at two individuals. Hawk's legal team has called on the public to show compassion and support for the troubled rapper and his family, asking for prayers and positive energy during what they described as an extremely difficult period.
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