Alleged Dolla shooter identified

Police today identified the man who allegedly shot and killed Atlanta rapper Dolla at the Beverly Center as Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, of Georgia.

Berry was arrested on suspicion of murder Monday afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport as he attempted to board a plane, said officials with the Los Angeles Police Department. He is accused of killing up-and-coming rap artist Roderick Anthony Burton II, 21, known as Dolla, who died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Berry was being held on $1-million bail. He was identified as one of two suspects who allegedly fled from the mall in a silver Mercedes-Benz SUV after the 3 p.m. shooting at the La Cienega Boulevard entrance of the Westside shopping center.

Burton was shot in the head as he and another rapper, D.J. Shabbazz, waited in the valet parking area, according to his publicist, Sue Vannasing. She said Burton had been involved in an altercation with other passengers on a flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles, but it was unclear if that was related to the shooting.

LAPD officers were called to the mall on a report of a group fight, possibly involving a knife. Authorities said two suspects were seen fleeing before officers arrived.

-- Ruben Vives

Comments

[Carl Wiley]

Another senseless death behind the pettiness that surrounds rapping and the "thug-life." When will our young people turn away from the foolishness that is the gang life, drug dealing or any other incarnation of violent living?

Auuthor
The Ring of Knowledge

[kptrojans]

"Another senseless death behind the pettiness that surrounds rapping and the "thug-life." When will our young people turn away from the foolishness that is the gang life, drug dealing or any other incarnation of violent living?" This as opposed to a father walking in and shooting his wife and killing his two small children, or a mother & her boyfriend killing a small child and trying to bury said child? I'm sorry to disagree with you, but violence and stupidity has no age limitations. Its not just the youth out there busting a "cap", its a lot of people in our country today (regardless of their age or if they are a gang-banger) that are doing the stupidity of murder, killing, death.

[thatguy]

R.I.P. Roderick Anthony Burton II

[healthy guy]

One minute the murderer is driving a Mercedes suv, the next he's behind bars forever. Idiot.

[Avril]

May God have mercy on his soul. My prayers go out to the family of Roderick.

[steve]

any care that the guy was about to board a plane with a 9mm? uh, any word on how and why he got a gun into terminal one?

[Romeo Walker]

Another senseless killing. Over what? Over words!! Over words!! When will you Black men realize that words are just words and they inflict no actual harm. When we young Black men realize that you should be happy that another young Black man has made a change in his life for the good. When will they realize that petty jealousies are preventing them from achieveing all that they can get. You are not a man because you have a gun and can kill someone. You are man when you have done the things that being a man entails. Education= advancement, not the law of the gun. Black men, WE are doing a job of killing ourselves better than any known to man.

[Very simple]

I'm not surprised something liked this happend. The crowd at the Beverly Center has gotten more and more ghetto over the years.

[B Clemens]

At the Beverly Center Valet? Seriously? What the hell, it's like the mafia in the 1930s.
I don't really care when rappers and gang members kill each other, but innocent people are ultimately hurt too. That is what is sad.

[aboке]

He not a killer.
aubrey louis berry happened-arrest.The video from the scene:
He not a killer

[shawana]

Its sad to see an up coming artist to be killed in such violence.Thatd why we should all get togetger and stop this madness because we all are going to be the victims... My prayers go out to his family, RIP DOLLA

[Cesar]

i hope the family is ok

[aboке]

He not a killer.
aubrey louis berry happened-arrest.The sensation video from the scene:
He not a killer

[Mykal Roze]

If there's one good thing to be seen surrounding this sadly all-too-familiar killing, it's that the murder suspect was caught immediately.
I can't help but think of how the killers in the Tupac, Biggie and Jam-Master Jay cases weren't caught. It's yet another killing of a rap artist, but at least it's not 10 years down the road with no suspects being brought to trial.

[Will]

What is even more sad than this is that our beloved Beverly Center is being invaded by people who live nowhere near the area! I don't like to go there anymore, because I feel as if I went to the Ghetto!

[JJSmith]

the guy was arrested in the tikecting lobby, not bording the airplane! ...........About an hour after the shooting, the LAPD issued a bulletin for a 20-year-old man considered a "person of interest" in the shooting. Los Angeles Airport Police officers spotted a man fitting the description in the ticketing lobby of Terminal 1.

[Charles]

The death of "Dolla" is insignificant compared to the number of lives wasted in parody of the sick culture that "Dolla" and others like him peddle for profit.

[Jeff]

"any care that the guy was about to board a plane with a 9mm? uh, any word on how and why he got a gun into terminal one?"
- Posted by: steve | May 19, 2009 at 10:48 AM
----------------
Where did you get the idea that he had the gun with him when he was trying to board the plane? Or that he even got it through security and into the terminal? The article doesn't say that. Maybe your just trying to start controversy that's not there.

[Earth Person]

Either D.J. Shabbazz is either a very unusual name for a rapper or writer Ruben Vives is unfamiliar with the lexicon of, well, the world.

[Jesse]

Ghetto? Black on Black crime? I can't understand how this becomes a racial problem. It's a human problem. People kill each other in every part of the world. Just because it's the "Beverly" Center doesn't make it immune. People of all color commit the sin of murder. Period. Just because your white, asian or Siberian the act of murder doesn't exclude you. Don't hold people of color to a standard higher than your own.
We know the problem, can we work on a solution? For all people.

[JT]

I can't wait to see his epitaph:

"Here lies Dolla"

[Tupac Goldstein]

Way too many wannabes in the first place.

[ANTHONY COLEMAN]

ITS NOT RIGHT TO KILL PEOPLE FOR NO REASON SOMETIMES I WONDER IF IM NEXT I LIVE IN OAKLAND AND ITS HARD TO SURVIVE OUT HERE EVERYBODY STRUGGLE SO WE SHOULD JUST STOP KILLING EACH OTHER EVERYONE IS MAKING THE WORLD WORST JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! R.I.P. DOLLA

[ATL's Finest]

Funny how many people on this post has tributed this person as some how being ghetto and the mall as now a ghetto place. I'm not from LA, but everytime I turn on my TV, violence isn't just in the ghetto. Husbands killing wives and kids, shooting in schools, CEO's ripping off people via ponzy schemes, people killing their children and random acts of violence. It's not just in rapper/Ghetto/Gang related environments. Violence is everywhere. In many TV shows, video games, movies and in music. So before we signle out any one group, do your research first. Either you're anti-violent or just making ignorant comments. It's not about race, age or class anymore. It's about people in general..

[tanaS]

Dolla for dolla. His death is holla'. We just get another fella to rap and make a million dollas. peace Out!

[ATL's Finest]

Oh! and before you say it...Typo for single not signle

[Will is a Douche]

Will,

You are a lame ass douche bag. Someone died and you worry about your beloved Beverly Center? Invaded by people who live no where near the area huh?

Just because there is color at Beverly Center here and there doesn't make it ghetto. I know your small brain may interpret it that way, but surely, you can dig deep down and put together enough logic to go against your natural reaction when you see a skin color unlike your own.

[Sharon]

Live like a thug, die like a thug.

I don't care if thugs kill each other. I don't want law enforcement professionals to risk their lives attempting to protect thugs and rappers.

I just hope the thugs stay in their own neighborhoods!! And away from mine.

[h]

WHO CARES. Live like a uneducated gansta and you deserve to die. One more piece of garbage society doesn't need.

[SherryB]

Upon reading the comments on this page, I find it quite offensive to keep reading the word "ghetto". There was a black man that killed another black man, PERIOD!!! Being a rapper doesn't make your life indispensible, how ignorant of those who said that. Every life is precious. It is this ignorance that causes this kind of violence. It not a "qhetto" thing...it's a mindset that has been here long before black people starting killing each other. Does anyone remember how the white man aquired this country...Grow up!! People and start praying for a dying world.

[Dolla]

Jus know thugs or rappers dont die for a reason and jus because u live a thug life doesnt mean anythang Sharon

[monica]

ITS VERY SAD TO HEAR HOW IGNORANT AND RACIST PEOPLE STILL ARE ! TO THAT GUY "H"! JUST BECAUSE HE EXPRESSED HIS MUSIC THROUGH RAP DID NOT MAKE HIM AN " UNEDUCATED GANGSTA " HE WAS ONLY 21 AND HAD BEGUN TO LIVE A LIFE BUILT OFF OF HIS HARD WORK AND DETERMINATION TO BE SOMEBODY! HE ALSO WAS A MODEL AND HIS LYRICS DID NOT CONSIST OF BITCHES, HOES, GUNS NOR VIOLENCE! WITH COMMENTS LIKE YOURS, YOUR ACTUALLY ONE MORE PIECE OF GARBAGE SOCIETY DOESN'T NEED! HOW DARE YOU INSULT A PERSON AND DOWNGRADE THEM WITHOUT KNOWING ANY HISTORY ABOUT THEM OR ANY FACTS OR DETAILS REGARDING THEIR LIFE OR SITUATION THAT ENDED THEIR LIFE ! I'M SADDEND THAT MY CHILD HAS TO GROW UP IN A WORLD /SOCIETY THAT IS CONSTANTLY JUDGING PEOPLE BY THEIR RACE OR THE MUSIC THEY LISTEN TO OR EVEN JUST BY THE WAY THEY DRESS. THERE'S ENOUGH PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD WITHOUT PEOPLE ADDING TO THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN IGNORANCE...GOD BLESS YOU AND MAY HE PUT SOME LOVE INTO YOUR HEART AND SEND SOMEONE TO LOVE YOU AS WELL...

[steve]

uh, mr. jeff, where did i get he was trying to board a plane? uh, may it was when i read this

"Berry was arrested on suspicion of murder Monday afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport as he attempted to board a plane"

As he attempted to board a plane tells me he was at the gate, no?

[J-Bo]

Ok seriously? Just because he's black and a rapper doesn't make him gang related or ghetto.

I saw someone put a comment "i don't care if rappers and gangsters kill each other"

For the record, rappers are singers, entertainers.. Catch my drift? " OH NO THERE ARE COLORED PEOPLE AT OUR BEVERLY CENTER !" Give me a break, last i heard a white guy killed his whole family and buried them under his house. that takes the cake. I'm not being racist i'm just trying to show that every race commits crimes.

[HipHop head]

sad thing. young hustler, one love homie. RIP Dolla bill

[Hungarian Hottie]

Na man! Most rappers aren't ganster or ghetto at all, they're just posers makin' some phat bread. They're harmless! Good people with fly syle!

r.i.p. brotha

[Locrian]

Just relax, everyone. Let's find out WHY this Dolla dude was shot in the first place, THEN, we make judgments. It appears the suspect flew all the way out here to kill him in the first place. What's the motive?

[Saddie]

I agree this is a very sad tragedy, especially for a young upcoming rapper who is trying to excell. What is unclear is the motive and correct me in case I'm wrong but apparently this guy lived in Atlanta also ( Killer ) and may have been on the same fight to LA and I'm guessing the car was a rental??? He was at LAX about to leave for Atlanta. This was an on-going dispute perhaps!! His ass should not see the light of day. I work in Corrections and it's very sad how young blacks are killing each other....THE DAMN PRISONS ARE ALREADY OVERCROWDED"

[Jerry H.]

Hi, I'm white and right. People who act bad will die bad. Because me and my friends listen to Barbara's music and not that nasty rapper stuff, were going to live good. We set an example for everybody to follow, cause were white and right. So as the black people say holla. I don't need to understand another race, because I'm here to protect and serve my own. NO COMPTON in BEVERLY HILLS or else were going to protest all black rappers. Forever and ever until I die with my friends who agree with me.

[Jonathan Keese]

Impulsive Reaction

I have warned several family members and friends to, “Do not go out hastily to strive, lest you know not what to do in the end thereof.” Most arguments are started impulsively; few are carefully thought out beforehand. My heart goes out to Roderick Anthony Burton II family, friends and fans due to some kind of argument or conflict that started on impulse and the outcome is a lost for all of us. Impulse has a much greater likelihood of hurting all of us in the end, rather than helping us achieve our dreams. Here is Jonathan Keese prescription, “Don’t do it. Stop and think about alternative course of action.

[ski]

hey wasnt "p.diddy" also in "biggys" life when he too was gunned down out here

[I'm waiting: Time to Blame Whitey!]

I love to listen to the music but let's face it: the larger hip-hop culture -- which also promotes conspicuous consumption, gangsterism and misogyny -- is deeply, deeply anti-social and, at heart, a negative force. In large measure it's the anti-culture.

But more importantly, could "you people," whatever your genetic makeup, learn some manners, please? PLEASE DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS!

[bostonsnowbunny]

Wow this whole thing is so sad.....He was so young and talented this didn't have to happen like that......Many prayers to the family.....RIP Dolla

[Twentybag]

First of all yall should show some respect. 50 Cent is Dolla's half brotha. Second of all white kids are shooting up schools everyday, while black crime is invariably rare and always gets besploded by the white media. DO YOUR RESEARCH. 2008 STATS: CEO CRIMES BY WHITE MEN: 740,000 in the US ALONE. Lest we forget Europe where the HATE began. Ghetto crimes by Blacks: 742 across the board. Source: FBI

[cathy]

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A COLOR ISSUE???? I HAPPEN TO BE WHITE AND AMERICAN INDIAN BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE IM A RED BLOODED AMERICAN. THERE ARE WHITE PEOPLE AND BLACK PEOPLE KILLING WHATEVER COLOR THEY WANT. THE POINT IS THERE ARE RED BLOODED AMERICANS KILLING RED BLOODED AMERICANS, I DONT CARE IF THERE FROM THE HOOD, THE NORTH SIDE, SOUTHSIDE OR AROUND THE CORNER. FACTS ARE FACTS REGARDLESS OF COLOR, SICK DEMENTED CRAZY "PEOPLE" ARE KILLING OTHER HUMAN BEINGS.
GROW THE HELL UP AND TAKE A STAND ON THOSE SICK CRAZY PEOPLE OUT THERE OF EVERY COLOR KILLING OUR AMERICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!!

[ROSALIND SHELTON]

TO THE FAMILY MY HEART AND PRAYERS GOES OUT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GOD IS ABLE TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THIS SENSELESS TRAGEDY. MAY BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. FROM MR. MRS. MOTT SHELTON FROM ATLANTA GA.

[Kim Jones]

Jerry H,

How ignorant you are to speak the way you do, not to mention the way you write. "Were white and right". Wrong, the correct grammar would be ; we're right or we are right. This just makes your ignorance all the more sad because you are not only ignorant but evidently uneducated. A very dangerous combinatioin.

[Kylita]

ITS SUCH A SHAME THAT A YOUNG MAN IS KILLED AND ALL PEOPLE CAN THINK ABOUT IS THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN. CRIME HAPPENS ANYWHERE! IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU ARE. FORH TOSE WHO CHOOSE TO SAY THE THUGS NEED NOT COME TO YUOR NEIGHBORHOOD GET A LIFE AND IMAGINE IF YOU WERE THE FAMILY THAT IS MOURNING THIS YOUNG MAN. TIMES AE CHANGING AND YOU WOULD THINK RACISM WOULD TO. STOP THE HATE AND LET HIM REST IN PEACE! RIP DOLLA YOU WILL BE MISSED!

[DOLLA FAN]

I LOVE U DOLLA I HOPE U RESTING IN PEACE.MAN I HATE THAT THIS HAD TO HAPPEN TO U ..YO MUSIC WUZ DOPE...ON DA REAL I GONNA MISS YA..BUT AS YOU SAID "THEY SAY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG,I MUST BE ON MY WAY AND TODAY IS MY DAY IMA DIE LIKE A MAN WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE KNOWING I NEVER RAN-DOLLA...U PROBALY KNEW YA TIME WUZ NEAR..ANYWAYZ U BE MISS AND PRAYED BY MANY..ESPEACIALLY ME-ONE OF YA MANY FANS,,R.I.P

[Michelle]

I think its very dissapointing what Jerry H quoted "where white and right" thats some ignorant statement. I went to Beverly Hills and i think its just another city with buildings and stores.Who cares. Why are you so racist. Face it this country will always be made up of different colors. People like you are not open minded to 2009. Just because a man was killed in beverly hills despite his age, race,color, living status does not mean you have to protest. He was a human just like all of us. Its people like you who are snobby and think that you are just what is the best in your society but needless to say you are wrong.You are not the best you think you are but you are not skin color does not change anything or where you stand in society. -Michelle
p.s. RIP to the man who passed away.May he RIP.

[Michelle]

Who said it was gang related? Just because the man is black does not necessarily mean he is a gang member. He is just like you and me people. People seem to think that rapping gets someone killed but thats not true rapping is music you rap or sing what you feel or tell a story. Its not just rappers that get killed its people in general from all walks of life.

[Michelle]

The guy was not asked to be killed. No one is ...

[db]

R.I.P DOLLA. YOU WILL B MISS'D NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.

[SPC Hurd]

Another senseless killing,and a lot of idiots posting opinions and comments.... If you are going to take your time and read the article, then have the respect to say something positive or at least knowledgable when you leave a comment. I happen to like rap music, i also happen to serve this country, it is disappointing to know that our own people are joking about the death of an American when i am over here in Iraq risking my life and away from my kid everyday.....R.I.P Dolla

[Very simple]

Well well, seems like "Dolla" was involved in a gang-related fight at a hip hop strip club in Atlanta right before this happened. If it looks like a duck . . .

[DANIELLE CAUSION]

dolla i miss u so much your music was dope and it was real and it hade a meaning i hope your in a better place lliving up your dream i love you baby rest in peace now that your gone your music lives forever and so do you i loove you so much i gonna miss you so much love and kisses my deepest smypthe goes out to roderick's family i with the family through this tough time

[Kplolt124]

R.I.P., this didn't have to happen, his dad committed suicide when he was 5 years old, his brother died at birth, and his mom is diagnosed w/ cancer. He was an inspiration to his community and city, his album was to be released this summer, he is to be missed.

[mrs.lewis]

DOLLA U WILL B MISSED AND I WILL 4EVA LOVE U

[Ayanna]

Damn shame that this young man is dead and the only thing ppl can think of is something ignorant to say. I hate to be some of you ppl on judgement day!!!!!

[Red407]

People have not learned since 2 pac biggie, Big L,
Jam masta Jay, now Dolla the list goes on Dj Uncle
L. And i am sure the millions of others shot over
stupidity words prob petty cash like he owed him
5000 grand or something. So he is willing to do life
in jail for shooting that man, over some small petty nonsense.
Gangs in L.A are like grown men who been arguing over
turf since they were young, still young minded grown men
that will never grow up and want to kill over money and drugs.
yes a lot of rap stars are posers who end up getting robbed for their chains then it gets posted on youtube.com or they find out he is a correctional officer, i could go on and on. or he no longer has street credibility because of this. its like u have to be shot to be a rapper or do a bid of some type. back in the days hiphop was not like this. Tribe called quest exc. de la soul.. jungle brothers, i can stll go on!