Rapper Silento begins 30-year prison sentence for killing of cousin

article

Richard Lamar "Ricky" Hawk (DeKalb County Sheriff's Office)

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Metro-Atlanta rapper Silentó has begun his decades-long prison sentence for the killing of his cousin.

TMZ reports that the rapper, whose given name is Ricky Hawk, was processed into the Georgia Department of Corrections this week after pleading guilty but mentally ill in connection with the 2021 deadly shooting.

The backstory:

Officers with the DeKalb County Police Department say they found 34-year-old Frederick Rooks III shot at a home off of Deep Shoals Circle and Corners Crossing in the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 2021. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neighbors told police that they heard gunshots and a security camera on a nearby home caught a white BMW SUV fleeing the scene shortly after the shots.

One of Rooks' family members said that the victim was last seen with Hawks, who picked him up from a friend's home in a white SUV.

Investigators did not have a suspect at the time but later identified Hawk as the gunman.

After the rapper was taken into custody, prosecutors say he admitted shooting Rooks. Bullet casings from the scene also reportedly matched a gun found on the rapper at the time of his arrest.

Following his guilty plea, a DeKalb County judge sentenced Hawks to 30 years in prison.

Dig deeper:

Silentó’s most popular song is "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" which was released in 2015 when he was just a junior at Redan High School in Stone Mountain. The song charted worldwide and even hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. It also started a social media phenomenon of videos being posted with people dancing to the song. 

The artist was featured on several tracks until his first full-length album came out in 2019 called "Fresh Outta High School."

The rapper had previously been arrested in DeKalb County in 2020 after he was accused of driving 143 mph on Interstate 85. He was also charged the same year with trying to hit two people with a hatchet in their home in Los Angeles.

What's next:

Records show Hawks could be released in 2051.

TMZ says the rapper plans on making music during his incarceration.