Reporting by: Dennis Byron
Moments ago, the judge presiding over the upcoming trial of Mani Chulpayev has just denied him a bond for the alleged accessory to murder of aspiring Trill Entertainment rapper Melvin Vernell III professionally known in the hip hop world as Lil Phat. According to court documents, Mani Chulpayev is accused of facilitating a GPS code to Lil Phat’s killers that aided them in locating him while he was visiting his newborn son at an Atlanta hospital.
According to Fulton County prosecutors, Chulpayev wanted the rapper dead because he believed that Lil Phat was going to testify against him for selling him a car that was stolen. During a recent hearing, Chulpayev’s defense attorney Tanya Miller told the judge that her client didn’t know that when he gave the GPS tracking codes to his “business partner” Decensae White also known as “Grizz”, they were looking to kill Lil Phat.
We have also learned that White has admitted to prosecutors that he was the one who ordered Lil Phat to be murdered because of a drug deal gone bad. In a shocking turn of events, Decensae White is expected to cooperate with prosecutors and testify that he ordered the murder with the understanding that he would only receive a maximum of eight (8) years in prison. Prosecutors have also charged rapper Eldorado Red for participating in the killing. In a previous hearing, Eldorado red was denied a bond.
We have to ask the question, if you were guarenteed a 8-year sentence for ordering the death of someone else, how far would you go to stretch the truth?
Follow us as this story develops.
Follow us on twitter@hiphopenquirer
[…] Defense Attorney Tanya Miller who is currently representing former Russian mafia boss Mani Chulpuyev for murder in the death of rapper Lil Phat has chimed in on the prospects of a Liberian man who […]