Hip Hop should be outraged by the acquittal of Dolla’s accused murderer
Aubrey Berry, Atlanta based music promoter who’s been in jail for the last year accused of murdering Akon’s rising star Dolla, was acquitted by a jury in Atlanta.
As we reported at the time of the murder, Dolla was in Los Angeles to continue work on his debut album A Dolla & A Dream. Aubrey Berry was charged for the murder. Many believed the Los Angeles shooting stemmed from an altercation a few weeks prior between Dolla and Aubrey Berry in Atlanta.
The prosecution said Berry killed Dolla and then asked a valet to bring him his rented sports car before driving around the dying Burton. Prosecutor Bobby Grace told the court: “Defendant Berry murdered Roderick Burton in cold blood, then tried to escape”.
Berry claims he acted in self defense.
Main points from Berry’s defense team that lead the jury to a not-guilty verdict are a cause for outrage:
- Berry genuinely believed Dolla had a gun (no such gun was ever produced)
- College-educated Berry lead, until then, a relatively violence-free life
- Dolla demonstrated a desire for a violent lifestyle through his rap lyrics
I am going to hold my tongue now because anything I might say will be very inflammatory.
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Categories: Hip Hop Deaths, Hip Hop Legal Woes Tags: dolla
Trial for Slain Rapper Dolla Began in LA on May 5
We sadly reported the senseless murder of Atlanta Rapper Dolla a year ago. The anniversary of his death brings a time to pause, remember, reflect and, sadly ask, was the suspect ever brought to justice?
On May 5 2010 The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:
LOS ANGELES: The killing of an up-and-coming Atlanta rapper at a crowded, upscale mall was described Tuesday by a prosecutor as a callous, calculated act by a man who then retrieved his car from a valet and drove around the body.
A defense attorney later countered that the shooting by defendant Aubrey Louis Berry of Snellville was an act of self-defense after he was threatened by rapper Roderick Anthony Burton II, known as Dolla.
The conflicting accounts came during opening statements in the latest trial involving the death of a rapper.
Burton, 21, was considered a protege of Akon and had released two songs with the hip-hop star. He was touring and working on his first studio album at the time of his death.
Burton joined a growing list of slain rappers, including Tupac Shakur in 1996, the Notorious B.I.G. in 1997, Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC in 2002 and Deshaun “Proof” Holton in 2006.
Authorities said bad blood developed between Burton and Berry nearly two weeks earlier, when they scuffled in a strip club in Atlanta, where both lived.
It was chance that brought them both to Beverly Center in Los Angeles on May 18, 2009. Both had been eating with friends before the shooting occurred in the valet area of the mall.
Deputy District Attorney Robert Grace told jurors Berry fired eight shots at Burton and his friends. Burton was hit by four bullets — three in the back — as he tried to run from Berry, Grace said in his opening statement.
After the shooting, Berry got his car and drove around Burton as he was dying, the prosecutor said.
“Roderick was senselessly gunned down by Aubrey Berry in a hail of gunfire,” Grace said.
Defense attorney Howard Price told jurors Burton had threatened Berry and may have been reaching for a gun.
Burton told Berry, “‘Today, you’re going to die,’” Price said in court.
No weapon was recovered on Burton, but Price said his friends had moved the body and didn’t cooperate with arriving officers.
Price said he planned to introduce some of Burton’s lyrics as evidence to show the rapper cultivated a violent image.
Berry, 24, has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He watched quietly Tuesday as Grace described the shooting.
At several points, the prosecutor used his hands to simulate a gun and show jurors how witnesses described Berry methodically aiming and firing at Burton and others.
Price later countered that his client was “not a marksman.”
With the jury absent, Superior Court Judge David S. Wesley denied a motion by Price to tell jurors Burton had been arrested in Georgia in 2008 for carrying a concealed weapon.
The judge said the arrest didn’t demonstrate that Burton has a “character trait for violence,” and that Berry didn’t know about the case at the time of the shooting.
The trial was expected to last a week.
We are certain Dolla doesn’t want us to focus on the sad tragedy of his murder – we think Dolla would prefer us to meditate on his own truth:
do not fear death but celebrate life
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Categories: Hip Hop Deaths, Hip-Hop News Tags: dolla
Shout out to all the love shown to slain rapper Dolla’s family
We continue to receive comments on our tribute to Rapper Dolla who was slain in mid-May outside a Los Angeles shopping mall. See Atlanta Rapper Dolla Shot Dead Outside LA Mall for more information on his murder.
Our Dolla Tribute post Dollas Funeral in Pictures continues to be one of the most highly viewed and commented posts on the site. Thank you to HHS visitors for showing such strong support for the grieving family, friends and fans of this young man taken far too soon.
We don’t have a lot of new information on the suspect being held in Dolla’s murder.
We can report Aubrey Berry was arrested on May 19, 2009, he remains in an LA jail with bail set at $2.1 million & he is not allowed to receive visitors. Mr. Berry’s next court date is scheduled for Oct 30, 2009.
Berry’s attorney, Howard R. Price, acknowledged that his client pulled the trigger but said he was acting in self-defense when he killed Dolla, 21, and fired at two other people.
Free Photo Hosting
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Categories: Hip Hop Deaths, Hip-Hop News Tags: Aubrey Berry, dolla, dolla murder
Images of T-Pain Dolla and Scrapp DeLeon Performing Live
How sad to note T-Pain and Dolla recently healed a strained friendship; right before Dolla was gunned down in LA.
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Categories: Uncategorized Tags: dolla, Scrapp DeLeon, t pain, T-Pain Dolla Scrapp DeLeon
Dollas Funeral in Pictures
Dolla’s brother, rapper Will “Scrapp DeLeon” Robinson said Dolla did not fear death, Dolla wanted people to wear white and celebrate his life at his funeral. Thank you to peach-lips.com for sharing the following:
During Saturday’s service, Scrapp DeLeon stood at the front with close friends and family, including DJ Shabazz, who was with Dolla at the time of his death, and reflected on his brother’s family life and path to fame.
“It was never me or I; it was we, us and they,” Robinson said of Dolla, who was signed to singer Akon’s record label. “He put other people in front of himself.”
He shared the text message he sent to his brother after his death, including this sentiment:
“My big brother has died, but I gained a bigger angel. I always knew you were too good to be here.”
Many Hip Hop Spy visitors have asked about Dolla’s funeral and requested pictures. At your request, we bring you Mr. Roderick Anthony Burton II’s final story in pictures:
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Categories: Hip Hop Deaths Tags: DJ Shabazz, dolla, dolla funeral, dolla funeral pictures, Scrapp DeLeon
