Michigan State Police found three Black men–two rappers and their friend–dead in a vacant building on February 2. At the time, the men had been missing since January 21 after their performance gig was canceled. In a recent update, MSP said the deaths were targeted and related to gang violence.
Armani Kelly, 27, Dante Wicker, 31, and Montoya Givens, 31, had traveled to Detroit to perform at Lounge 31. Armani was reportedly the driver who later communicated to his fiancée Taylor Perrin that equipment issues got the performance slashed. After 7:30 p.m. local time, Perrin says her texts, calls, and Facebook messages to Armani went unanswered.
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On March 17, MSP clarified that the incident had nothing to do with “music or a performance.” Instead, they ruled the deaths a homicide. The incident is still under investigation, but no one is in custody.
“This was a gang violence-related incident,” MSP tweeted. “There are other people that know the details, and we need them to come forward. Please call 800.Speak.Up if you have information on this case. Together we can bring closure to these families.”
We know there are a lot of media/social media rumors about this investigation. While we have to keep some things private we know a couple of things:
There is no one in custody for this homicide.
This homicide was not random and had nothing to due with music or a performance. 2/— MSP Second District (@mspmetrodet) March 17, 2023
Detroit News reported that the men were found in the basement of the rat-invested building underneath old construction equipment. Each victim reportedly died from “multiple gunshot wounds.” Michigan State Police First Lt. Michael Shaw told WDIV that the men were killed upstairs inside the building before being “dumped in the basement.” Police initially used cell phone tower activity to locate the missing men.
A teenager was later arrested in connection to Armani’s car, but it’s unclear what developed from the arrest. At the time, an adult male was taken into custody in connection to the teenager stealing the vehicle.
Dawn Fraylick, from the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, told CBS News that the 15-year-old was arrested “in connection with a vehicle associated with one of the missing people,” but not for the missing men.
This is a developing story.