US: Man held for murder in shooting death of rapper
20 May 2009 1:16 AM
LOS ANGELES, May 19 AFP - A 23-year-old man has been detained on suspicion of murder following the shooting death of up-and-coming rap artist Dolla outside a Los Angeles shopping mall, police said on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, of Georgia, had been booked for murder and was being held on $US1 million ($A1.3 million) bail in connection with the death of Dolla, real name Roderick Anthony Burton II.
Atlanta-based Burton, 21, was shot in the head in broad daylight on Monday afternoon as he waited outside the Beverly Center, a busy shopping hotspot which is popular with tourists.
Police have so far declined to formally identify the murder victim, but Burton's publicist Sue Vannasing confirmed it was her client, who had arrived in Los Angeles to record his debut album.
Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the slaying, but Vannasing told the Los Angeles Times that Burton had got into a fight with a passenger during a flight from Atlanta.
"They followed him to the mall because they knew he was coming," Vannasing told the Times.
Los Angeles Airport Police officers identified a male passenger matching the description at an airport ticketing desk who was later discovered to be armed.
Chicago-born Dolla had signed a deal with rap star Akon's Konvict Muzik, with singles including Feelin Myself and I'm Tore Up.
