Murder suspect alleges that rapper Dolla threatened him, admits opening fire, attorney says

The attorney for an Atlanta man accused of killing rapper Dolla earlier this week said his client opened fire after feeling threatened by the rapper and his entourage during a chance encounter in the restroom of a Beverly Center restaurant.

 

Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, was arrested Monday at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of shooting Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Anthony Burton II, as he stood at the valet waiting area of the popular shopping center.

 

Police allege Berry, a promoter who had had an altercation with Burton at an Atlanta strip club earlier this month, fired at Burton, 21, and two other people who were with him.

 

“This is not a murder case,” said Berry’s attorney, Howard R. Price. “At worst it’s a manslaughter case, at best it’s a case of self defense,” he said.

 

L.A. County prosecutors disagree. On Wednesday, Berry was charged with one count of murder and two counts each of assault with a firearm. Police said no other weapons were recovered from the scene and Burton was unarmed.

 

"Our prosecutors believe the evidence was sufficient for a murder filing," said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. "We try our cases in the courtroom, not on the sidewalk."

 

Price said Berry and Burton clashed at the Platinum 21 Adult Entertainment club in Atlanta. Price says Burton and a few members of his crew beat up Berry. Berry and Burton happened to run into each other Monday in the restroom of the P.F. Chang's restaurant in the Beverly Center.

 

Price described the meeting as a “chance encounter:” Berry was meeting with business associates at the eatery, and Burton and his crew had just arrived at the mall after getting off a flight from Atlanta.

 

Price alleges that the rapper made verbal threats against Berry, who decided to leave the restaurant. When he got to the mall’s valet parking area, Burton and two other people followed him, the attorney said.  Berry thought Burton was reaching for his waistband and fired his weapon.

 

“He perceived that his life was in danger," Price said. The attorney did not deny that Berry shot and killed Burton, and said his client was cooperating with authorities.

 

He said officers found a 9-millimeter handgun in Berry's possession  when he was arrested at the airport, and that Berry has a concealed weapons permit either from the city of Atlanta or the state of Georgia.

 

Berry was not aware that his concealed weapons permit did not allow him to carry the handgun in California, Price said. He said that Berry brought the gun to California in a lock box.

 

Price said that Berry was at the airport to catch a previously scheduled flight to attend his sister's medical school graduation.

 

He said Berry had been in Los Angeles for “a couple of days” and that reports that he had followed Burton from the airport were untrue.

 

An arraignment for Berry scheduled for today was postponed until Friday, but at prosecutors' request, Commissioner Kristi Lousteau increased his bail to $5 million.

 

- Ari B. Bloomekatz

Comments

[Ruby Jackson]

I'd like to know exactly where in Terminal 1 he was when he was apprehended. Reports said that he was in the waiting area, and that he had a gun in his waistband. Is that area past security?!

[And I'm black, so I don't wanna hear it.]

Q: Why is it that everybody else isn't having beef with each other's posses at strip clubs, packing heat in other states and preemptively shooting 9 mm pistols in crowded malls? Why is it that only hip-hoppers and gangsters do this stuff?

A: Because the rest of us are boring, hardworking folks who don't brag about how much money we have, don't intimidate everybody else with armed entourages in outlandish costumes, and let arguments go without violence. That's why.

[Mike]

I don't know who's more full of it--rappers or lawyers. If every time I felt "threatened" I shot somebody in the head I'd be history's biggest mass murderer. Even funnier is the fact it's supposed to be a "chance encounter." So by "chance" two guys who had a fight in Atlanta both fly to LA (the Times doesn't indicate whether it was the same flight--nice reporting). By "chance" they both go to the Beverly Center, and by "chance" they end up in the restroom of PF Changs only to by "chance" meet up at the Valet stand. I think by "chance" this idiot will get life in prison.

[Dave]

Right! Two guys from Atlanta, one of whom has an axe to grind with another guy, fortuitiously meet in a men's bathroom in a restaraunt in Los Angeles! I doubt if jurors anywhere, even in Los Angeles, are gullible enough to buy this one.

[jerry]

how did he get a license to carry a weapon without knowing not to carry a weapon across states!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????

it just seems this murderer just wants to get out of a crime he committed!

[Rocco]

Does ANYBODY believe this was a coincidence? Nice try, Mr Lawyer. This was a hit.

[stan]

what a waste, this crap have got to stop

[MC]

Well, here's an argument for a national gun control statute, or at least uniform state laws... this chump didn't realize that his Georgia concealed weapon permit didn't apply in California? and how in the h3ll was he even able to get a gun on a plane? in a lockbox or not?

[Adam M Warren]

After reading this tragedy, questions occurred. Do people react unknown from having there life threatened? Is this world really such a small world that two people from Atlanta are likely to have a run in with each other in California at the same place, at the same time? Why alert the airport of a possession that has been overlooked knowing this can cause confusion and chaos? If you could, would you bring a dangerous possession to a family celebration? These are the questions I ask myself after reading disturbing outcomes. I hope society can change a negative to a positive after acquiring these thoughts.

[none]

Sounds like premeditated murder to me. Anyone with a brain knows that Dolla was followed and murdered. My prayers go out to his family.

Much Love

[Nicole Malbrough]

I've personally known Aubrey Berry since elementary and there is no way you can tell me this is of his character. Berry would never do anything to harm someone without it being in self-defense.

[CLEAN]

thats messed up man dolla was still young and had his whole life ahead of him listing to rainy nights in georgia right now R.I.P CUZ ALL LOCS GO TO HEAVEN ANY WAY.