Atlanta rapper Silento, whose legal name is Ricky Hawk, was arrested Monday and charged with murder for the shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin
Silento, the Atlanta rapper, best known for his hit song Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae), was arrested Monday and charged with murder in the death of his cousin.
DeKalb County police said in a statement on Twitter that the 23-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Ricky Hawk, has been arrested in a suburb of Atlanta.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment for first-degree murder in connection with the death of 34-year-old Frederick Rooks on January 21.
Hawk was detained early Tuesday.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported earlier that police responded to a call from gunmen on Jan. 21 at about 3:30 a.m. in the Panthersville community in DeKalb County.
The 23-year-old rapper is best known for his 2015 hit song Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)
Police said officers found Rooks dead with multiple gunshot wounds that night, including to his face and leg. He was pronounced dead at the scene in Deep Shoals Circle.
Detectives have collected security videos of nearby homes. Footage showed several cars speeding away from the scene, and it caught at least one gunshot. According to an incident report, eight bullet casings were found at the scene.
Police said they were still trying to determine a motive behind the murder.
Hawk’s manager did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In October, the rapper was arrested for allegedly driving 143 mph on Interstate 85 in Georgia.
Legal misery: Hawk was arrested last October (left) after allegedly driving 143 km / h on Interstate 85. A month earlier, the rapper had been arrested in California (right) for allegedly walking into strangers’ home and swinging a battle ax at them.
According to a police report obtained by TMZ, Hawk was observed to turn more slowly, change lanes and slow down vehicles.
Initially, when he was pulled over, Hawk gave his driver’s license to the officer while declaring, ‘We are not doing anything wrong’.
The rapper allegedly said that he had just left a club after promoting a new song and that he was being followed.
The native of Georgia further stated that he has the right to drive fast.
“If there are ten cars running after me, I can do 143 because I’m not an ordinary person, and you can go look at your computer, and that’s what you’ll say,” said Officer Hawk.
Hawk became a viral sensation in 2015 after releasing his debut song Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae), which caused a dance fad
He was charged with reckless driving, speeding, failure to maintain the track and improper stopping, news agencies reported.
A month earlier, Hawk was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. The rapper is accused of walking into an unlocked stranger in the Valley Village area of Los Angeles and swinging a battle ax at the two men inside before one of them disarmed him.
TMZ reported that the rapper was looking for his girlfriend but later found out he had entered the wrong house.
Prior to the arrest, he was charged with inflicting corporal punishment on a spouse or cohabitant on Aug. 28 at a home in Santa Ana.
Hawk’s hit song rose to third place on the Billboard Hot 100 and caused a dance fuss
Hawk made headlines in 2017, when he was briefly detained in Abu Dhabi amid allegations that he did not perform at two shows for which he was contracted.
Georgia’s biggest hit, Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae), was released in 2015 and went viral, sparking an international dance vibe.
The song climbed to third place on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the official music video for Whip / Nae Nae has been viewed more than 1.7 billion times on YouTube. Hawk’s most recent release was the single “Swish” on January 28th.