Snapped: Women Who Murder - BONUS: Blood Feud (The Real Murders Of Atlanta)

Episode Date: September 14, 2023

Atlanta's thriving hip-hop scene is stunned when up-and-coming rapper Lil' Phat is executed in broad daylight; the case takes detectives into a world of mobsters and kingpins where the victim's lyrics may have foretold his demise.Season 01 Episode 02Originally aired: January 23, 2022Watch full episodes of Buried in the Backyard live or OnDemand for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://www.oxygen.com/real-murders-of-atlantaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I'm Carrie Mulligan, the host of I Hear Fear, a new anthology series of terror. You and I know that the best scary stories are the ones we tell each other in the dark, so turn off your lights and close your eyes. Follow I Hear Fear on the Wondering app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm going deep into my wife's family history, digging up the cold case of her murdered great grandmother. And did I mention that I'm looking into whether the murderer was actually the beloved family patriarch? Follow Go Story wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen everywhere on October 23rd where you can binge early and and free on Wondery Plus the same day. Hi Snap listeners, we are bringing you a special bonus episode today from Oxygen True Crime's hit series, Real Murders of Atlanta, airing on Oxygen True Crime on Fridays at 90th Central. You can also watch full episodes, live or on demand on the free Oxygen app by clicking the link in our description. Enjoy. A terrifying public execution in the parking lot of a busy public hospital.

The most obvious evidence was the victim's white Audi A7 that had six bullet holes in the back window. And to the right of that are six shell casings laying on the ground. There were several witnesses that observed two males that were outside the parking deck. A beloved Atlanta rapper, Melvin Vernel III, AKA Little Fat, whose rising star is brutally extinguished. He was a young, talented kid that

had a promising rap career in front of him. Did the quest for fame in Atlanta's infamous rap scene lead to dangerous decisions? There is this expectation to portray this street credibility, even if it gets them in trouble. In the desperate hunt for the killer, can confidential informants be trusted? I was shocked to learn that this guy was going to see I for the FBI.

He kept the books for the Russian mom. So I know there were some rumors about there being some disagreements between Lulfat and Busy over the residuals. The perfect storm was starting to evolve. Sometimes success can come with a deadly price. We began to get a clear picture of me. This was more of a targeted hit rather than a random shooting. This really gets freaky.

Somebody was literally hunting him down like a dog. The Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones

Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones

Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones Stones suburbs, the metro area has to brag about. St. East Springs is a city that sits on top of Atlanta, Georgia. It's a very diverse city. It's one of the newest cities in Georgia.

We have very affluent people that live here. As a community that prides itself in having the best of everything, it's no surprise that they boast on one of the country's most renowned maternity wards. Northside Hospital is like the baby factory of the United States, where so many lives and happy memories are developed because people are giving birth there.

But one night, in June of 2012, the miracle of birth and tragedy of death collide. There's around 6.40 pm and the dispatchers, dispatch units to Northside Hospital in the parking lot at the women's center. There's a person shot. We had an officer come over the radio and say they needed detectives. So we knew it was going to be something of the larger scale. We didn't know if we had an active shooter.

The shooter might still be in the area, where they all seen. We did have a tactical unit clear the parking deck at every level to ensure that the suspects were gone. The victim had been removed from the car by hospital staff at that time and rushed into the hospital to perform life-saving measures. Approximately 10 to 15 minutes after my arrival,

I was informed that he had been pronounced dead in the emergency room. The most obvious evidence was the victim's white Audi A7. That was in a parking space partially out that had six bullet holes in the back window. And to the right of that are six shell casings laying on the ground. Detectives note that these aren't just any shell casings. They're specifically designed to work

in only one particular semi-automatic pistol. We knew the murder weapon used was a Glock 357-SIG, which is a Glock hang-gun that has ported barrels. Inside the car, investigators find blood on the driver's seat and dashboard, and a gun on the floor. The victim had a Glock 9mm handgun with an extended magazine. The gun was fully loaded with a 30-round magazine and one round in the chamber.

It had not been fired. and one round of the chamber, it had not been fired. It appears the shooting had been an ambush. The victim laying on a hospital bed with four bullet wounds in his back is a young black man in his late teens. He has no idea on him, so all the police have to go on is the car in the parking garage. When we ran the license plate of the Audi, the victim was in and determined the owner of the vehicle

was a male that lived out in Coventon, Georgia, we obtained a picture of the owner. We then texted the detective over in the emergency room that picture. He looked at the victim to which he stated they are two totally separate people. So we then utilized a fingerprint scanner and scanned our victim, and it was able to determine

he was Melvin Vernell, the third. When they run Melvin's name through the police database, investigators find only a recent traffic stop. Police need to determine why this 19 year old was in the parking lot of this prominent maternity ward. At that time, we only knew him as Melbourne, Brinnell III, and had no knowledge of why he was there. We were really concentrating on figuring that out. You know, they had to be there for a reason.

Another piece of evidence I got was when my commander handed me a bag with over $5,000 in cash from the victim's front right pants pocket. The victim was in possession of two cell phones. One of them continued to ring with the name Baby Ma on the screen. We applied for a search warrant for phone records. While detectives wait for the search warrant to clear in order to investigate the victim's phone, police continue to work the scene. We immediately begin to canvas the area and several witnesses observed two males outside the parking deck, just before this shooting happened.

Witnesses consistently describe the suspects as a tall black male, the muscular build, approximately 6185 pounds, and the shooter who had a black gun was approximately 5'4 with a short afro. There was a camera approximately 15 feet away in the parking deck. When you look at the car and you look over your left shoulder, there's the little bubble.

I mean, there's the camera. And we were very excited. Unfortunately, Northside Hospital at that time were still utilizing VHS tapes. When they ejected it and pulled it out, the machine had been eating the tape. So we were unable to obtain any video whatsoever. The evidence was destroyed.

It was heartbreaking. When we got the search warrant signed for the victim's cell phones, 30 minutes later, somebody called him. So I answered the phone. A young lady stated that was her fiance's phone. She was upstairs in labor and delivery. High risk was on bad rest. I was in a hospital because I was going into labor with my daughter. They were trying to prevent me from going to labor because I was only seven and a half months. I called Fat Phome and he wasn't answering. And finally the detective, he was like, this is like Sandy's spring police.

Detective Williams heads into the hospital to handle the uninviable task of delivering the devastating news to Melvin's fiance. The death notification that we gave Donnie's Frazier was very hard. When you're holding your hand and you have to explain to her, or correct or inform you that your fiance was shot murdered a few minutes ago outside,

that was very hard. I didn't know what to think what happened. It was just like, I've never felt something in that bad. It happened to me ever. When you have a case like this, you've got to jump into this kid's lifestyle, head on and conduct a victimology. Find out who he's hanging out with, what he's doing.

Is there a beef? Investigators question Melvin Sviance, who says that he's a local celebrity in Atlanta's music scene. I was told that the victim was a rapper, and that he went by the name Little Fat. Apparently, he was up and coming in the music industry and did concert routinely throughout the area. So the thing about Little Fat,

Little Fat is Melvin for no junior son. The head of Trill Entertainment, he was one of many teen stars to kind of stand out and make the label the success story that it is today. His debut mixtape was a collaboration with DJ Khaled. He was really being set up for success. I met that after a show at Denys and then we exchanged numbers that night so we just always

like text and kept my contact. After like a year and a half, when we started living together then I got pregnant. Man Fat left and Sandy springs. It was like a five-bedroom house. It was nice, really nice. And every time I he was going to roll, he would bring his daughter something back, like candy toys, anything. He was a great father. Investigators ask Lil Fats fiancee to take them through Fats timeline of the day leading up to the murder. Donnie's Frazier walked us through where he was going.

We learned that Melbourne, Vernell, had been out that day in Atlanta. And later in the day, he went up to the hospital room. They talked for a little bit, and he told her he was leaving. It was going to go meet up with his crew and work on some records. So we learned that he had walked out to the car to leave to go meet with his friends. We obtained a search warrant for the victim, Melvin Vernell's house, to see if there was anything there that might have any evidentiary value.

We got there, and the back door was kicked in. We didn't know what to think at that time, but if we were to put two and two together, possibly the people that killed him were looking for him at the house first, and then found him at the hospital, which then became concerning for us, because at that time we're beginning to now realize

he was targeted. Somebody was waiting on him, somebody wanted him dead. Hey, something's not right about this. There's more to this than just a killing that had taken place in a parking lot. He would rent these luxury vehicles to individuals in the game.

You know, drug dealers, individuals who had a large amount of cash. There were some rumors about there being some disagreements between Lulf Adam Busy over the residuals. You got little Busy who was accused of committing multiple murders. I felt like he was for wanting to make a point. Sandy Springs homicide detectives, like many in Atlanta's music scene, aren't sure if the murder of Melvin Lulfadfernault III is another hip-hop feud

turned violent, or if it's something more personal. What I remember about Lou Fad's death was that it was just hard to really make sense of it. He was so young and he was still kind of coming up. I think that is part of a larger and a fortunate phenomenon in hip-hop, where we're seeing a lot of these artists die young a lot of times because of shootings. So, you know, people were just struggling to make sense of it.

Within hours of the shooting, Detective Discover, that Melvin's house has been ransacked and takes the investigation into a significantly ominous direction. You could tell that somebody had been in there looking around trying to find something. You could smell a strong odor of marijuana where large quantities of marijuana had been.

We thought that they may have found it and seized it. With evidence of drugs taken from the victim's home and a public execution the next day. It's no fluke for police. The two crime scenes are obviously linked. Possibly the people that killed him went there first looking for him and then found him at the hospital. And that's now lending a lot of credence to that idea

that this was a hit. The biggest question we had is, how did they know he was at the hospital. And that's now lending a lot of credence to that idea that this was a hit. The biggest question we had is, how did they know he was at the hospital? If we can determine how the suspects knew he was there, we felt that that would be very advantageous for us. Following the trail of breadcrumbs, investigators must now question the owner of the car, Lil Fat was driving.

So at about 10 o'clock that night, the detective Smith and I left for Covington, Georgia to try to find and to meet the owner of the car, the Audi A7. At about 11 o'clock, we arrived at his location. The owner of the car was shocked when we showed up. He was very standoffish. He told us he was a truck driver. So I began to ask him how somebody in his line of work

could afford the Ford Mustang that was sitting outside his residence, as well as this Audi A7, which was a $74,000 car. He then began to explain to us that he would buy the car and then would send the car to a rental business, and the car would be paid off in about one year's time as people would rent the car and drive it all over. So we begin to ask questions to determine who he rented it to

and he told us that he would rent the car to global elite and that he would have to have the person that handles all of that, the owner of the company, Mani Chappaya, give us a phone call at a later time. Mani Chappaya would rent these luxury vehicles to individuals in the entertainment industry, the professional sports industry, and also individuals in the game.

You know, drug dealers, individuals who had a large amount of cash. I mean, you know, having the latest and greatest luxury vehicle is a part of the image. And so, Manny provided that image to many people here in the city of Atlanta. Manny called me late that night, 30 minutes after midnight. He said he had rented the car to the victim,

a little fat, in that he'd get me a contract and a driver's license the next day. It was a very short conversation. This guy's being very evasive. He had no intent of staying on the phone for any length of time. I got in touch with Detective Williams and said, He had no intent of staying on the phone for any length of time. I got in touch with Detective Williams and said, hey, something's not right about this. There's more to this than just a killing

that had taken place in a parking lot. Suspicious of Chupayev's lack of cooperation, detectives continue their examination of the luxury car entrepreneur, while Melvin's devastated family decides he needs to be laid to rest, where he was born. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We wanted to go down to the funeral

as we're doing the victimology, continuing studying Melvin Renel. We also want to show our respects to the family. There was a lot of publicity on social media, and the family announced that they were going to do the burial in Baton Rouge, yet people from all over the United States of America, a different group saying, we're going to come, we're going to represent. A lot of folks in the hip-hop community responded,

you know, expressing their condolences. The overall response was just that, wow, he was so young. And we hadn't heard everything that we were meant to hear from Lil Fatt. The overall response was just that, wow, he was so young. And we hadn't heard everything that we were meant to hear from Lil Fatt. But detectives learn that there seems to be one of Fatt's fellow rappers from Baton Rouge that isn't so sorry that Lil Fatt is gone.

Lil Fuzzi had been convicted of gun and drug charges and pat an eight-year sentence to serve. So he was in Angola State Prison. Busy was being called the two-pocket this afternoon he was coming up. When folks look to people like Busy, they're looking for authentic street rap. I call outlaw rap, it's like stick-up rap.

You know, lots of gun talk, but I think, when folks think of Busy, they think of somebody who's being like super authentic, who like is really reporting from the streets. Little Boosey came up through social media. We began noticing people were making comments online that Little Boosey was frustrated with Melvin and Vernel. They're out here doing shows, they're making money while he's stuck in prison,

where they should be given some of that money back to his family, helping them out while he's in jail. So I know there were some rumors about there being some disagreements between Lulf Adam Boosey over the residuals. So we're beginning to think, you got Little Boosey, who was accused of committing multiple murders. I felt like he was for wanting to make a point,

trying to make a name for himself. We looked into the little boozy angle with the Pat and Rouge Police Department and investigation from the district attorney's office. They have a system down there where they have investigators that listen to all of the jail phone calls going in and out. And the morning after the murder, a young lady had called little boozy and out, and the morning after the murder, a young lady had called little booze,

and said, hey, I got some bad news. Did you hear about little fat? And he said, no, what's up? And she goes, he was gunned down last night. And you can hear little booze, he starts screaming and yelling, and slam on the phone down, and you don't know, no, no.

He was very upset. You could tell he was caught off guard by it. We then went through all the little booze, he's phone calls. There was absolutely no connection whatsoever. Literally, we came out pretty much ruling out anything that had happened in Baton Rouge. It is frustrating, but when you work or murder,

you have to follow the evidence. You can't pick and choose where you go. You follow the lady evidence. Wherever she takes you, wherever you go. This tip came in. We investigated it. We cleared it, and we're moving on. It is frustrating, though. We investigated it, we cleared it, and we're moving on. It is frustrating, though.

So I went back home, and then it got really odd, because the next day, a special agent with FBI Atlanta wanted to talk to me and possibly had information on our murder, and that this stemmed from some drugs that it had been stolen. And that's now lending a lot of credence to that idea that this stemmed from some drugs that it installed. And that's now lending a lot of credence to that idea that this was a hit.

In June of 2012, detectives work frantically to solve the case of Melvin Vernell III and obtain justice for his devastated young widow and children. and obtained justice for his devastated young widow and children. What stood out to me was when the nurse, she said that she tried her best to save him and she still could smell his cologne. Like, that was like the one thing that stood out to me because she said that he was trying so hard, but it's just like he couldn't make it. I just still remember that all the time. Investigators have a unique trail of evidence to follow.

None so far has led to a name of Melvin's killer. As detectives continue to chase every lead, they get a call from the Atlanta office of the FBI. The FBI agent calls me and discloses that he had a confidential informant that had named specific suspects, pertaining to our murder. The agent told me that the source was a registered informant, had been deemed reliable, incredible, specifically that he was very good and had provided

them with some really good information in the past. Detective zero in on the two suspects given to them by the FBI's informant. The suspects were Gary Bradford, aka Alderado Red, and to sense a Y, aka Gris. We began the research, and we learned very quickly that Eldorado Red is part of the bank-get-money gang in Montgomery, Alabama.

Very violent, very, very involved in guns, and distribution of marijuana and cocaine. Eldorado Red is the shot caller, or what they call the OG of the criminal street gang known as BGM. He has a whole bunch of foot soldiers. El Dorado Red's significant criminal history puts him a top investigator's suspect list,

but the Sensei White, aka Gris, seems out of place in the middle of a murder investigation. Gris, who is Desensei White, is from California. He went to private Catholic school, had a basketball scholarship, he played basketball under a Bobby Knight. He wants to have moved Atlanta

and try to get into the rap scene. So he comes to Atlanta and the marijuana around the areas, it's not good, marijuana, it's too expensive. He's connected to growers in California. So he starts to run a very large operation and he will ultimately meet Gary Bradford, Elorado Red, when those two begin to network. And basically at the end of the day, the sense they wide is supplying the entire city of Montgomery with their marijuana. And the two of them are making hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Based on the new information, investigators submit warrants

for phone records for Gary Bradford and the sense they white. What we're looking for is where they are the day before the murder during the murder, things of that nature. Once the records came in, we saw where they traveled down into the area of Northside Hospital, an hour or two before the murder, things of that nature. Once the records came in, we saw where they traveled down into the area of Northside Hospital, an hour or two before the murder, and they're together. They're there a couple hours before, but they're there. So this all began to start tying some loosens together,

but it still didn't paint the big picture. L. Dorado Red and Desensei Gris White are now lead suspects in the murder. But detectives now need to determine why a California basketball star and known Alabama drug dealer would want a rapper from Atlanta dead. It was probably a few weeks in.

The 911 center had received a phone call from a conventional informant. I'm a colonel about a couple of projects and they're all you all got over there. How many of them do you do? What case did you say it was? You go out with a little firm.

Do you have the suspects information? You street learning, you go about the board. No, it's their name because I got the board. And it's first name is Maurice. Yes. The more, his first name is Maurice. Here. You know, you're a lot of Maria, a lot of Maria. He specifically named Elrotto Red and Maurice Conner to be involved in the shooting.

Gary Elrotto Red Bradford is already on investigators list of suspects, but Maurice Conner is a new name for detectives. We began to research Maurice Conner and learn that he was part of the Bang and Money Gang under Elder Aura Red. We're researching Maurice, and we see where he received a speeding ticket June 6, 2012,

in the afternoon on I-85, close to the George border. This is the day before the murder. I called the Trooper Poo, pulled him over for speeding. He told me that there's two occupants in the vehicle. Marie's Connor is driving. Passager is Deandre Washington. Interestingly enough, when they were stopped, they were asked where they were going.

They both said that they were traveling to Atlanta to a funeral. We had good witnesses at the hospital that gave good descriptions of one suspect being tall, one being short. And the short suspect was approximately 5354 with a short afro. Passager is Deandre Washington. Who's 5'4? We're now following the shooters. They're coming in town. Marie's Conner's phone records places him at the scene of the murder. I was shocked to learn and find out He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money.

He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money.

He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. He's got a lot of money. Investigators are swiftly moving in on multiple emerging suspects in the killing of Melvin Lough Fatt vernell III when one man, Deandre Washington, comes to the forefront. Detectives follow up on a traffic stop that took place the day before the murder, just over the border in Alabama. Because of the traffic stop, we learned that the passenger is Deandre Washington, who's five foot four, and has a medium-sized afro.

Washington matches the exact description from witnesses at the scene, and phone records help pin down his and associate Maurice Conner's whereabouts during the brutal execution. We have them being in Atlanta at the time of the crime. We have phone records that track the movements of both Washington and Conner traveling to Northside Hospital at the time of the crime.

Maurice Conner's phone records places him at the scene of the murder. He makes a phone call. I believe 38 seconds after 911 was called, and he is inside the Northside Hospital. He's inside the complex. Investigators tighten their grip on the four main suspects, but there remains a burning question left to be answered.

It's not adding up. How did they know he was at the hospital? His fiance, on East Fraser, she told us, Melvin Vernell, he had been with the Reelder all day, looking at houses. Then he goes to Popeyes, then he goes to the hospital. I mean, he'd been traveling all day. How did they know he was there?

At this point, the investigation kind of hits across roads. We had an FBI agent call and informed me At this point, the investigation kind of hits a crossroads. We had an FBI agent call and informed me their registered informant, the person who specifically gave us the name of Desensate White and Gary Bradford was managed to apply out. I was shocked to learn and find out that this guy was Bissi-I for the FBI. I couldn't believe it. Investigators learn that Manny has been ratting out criminals in his orbit to the FBI for

years. Manitchapaya kept the books for the Russian mob and ultimately he turned government's evidence and became an FBI informant. I wanted to interview Mani, but once I realized he was the confidential informant that the FBI was referring to, and the agent made it clear that he was hands off, you couldn't talk to him. He was very, very protective, very protective of Mani.

While Mani's safeguards himself behind the FBI, Lil Fatt's case continues to resonate throughout the grieving Atlanta hip-hop community, causing more leads to poor into the police. I received a phone call from a detective in Montgomery, who says we have a gentleman who has very intimate information about your murder and the shooter confessed elements of the crime to him. It was okay. I'm sure. Put me on speakerphone.

I'm not so would you know? When he said El Dorado Red, recruited Maurice Conor and Deonari Washington to kill Melvin Vennel. It's okay. Where did they kill him? Northside hospital in the Park and Deckith women's center. It's okay. What did they shoot him with? A Glock 357-6.

We never released that. We'd never released that. And at that time, you know what? I'm not having this conversation over the phone. Seein' three hours. We drove out to Montgomery, and we interviewed that gentleman for four hours. He told me that Deandre Washington confessed

the entire murder to him. Deandre explained to him how he shot him, how they found him, and everything. Not only does this new information, pinpoint the shooter as Deandre Washington, the informant helps detective Williams place that last piece of the puzzle. I then asked the informant, how did they know he was there?

He said, yeah, they had GPS trackers, and if some Russian guy was renting the car's form, they tracked him. Yeah, they tracked him the night before, and they couldn't get him. Oh, and the Russian was helping him. The Russian is the FBI's informant, and car rental entrepreneur, Mani Chopayav.

Mani put trackers in his vehicles. And so, if someone rented a vehicle and didn't make the payment, Mani would be able to track the vehicle and get it back a task force is formed. It's a go up to the impound lot and to seize the GPS trackers from the car. So, we go up to this beautiful $100,000 hotty and we get the GPS trackers from the car. So we go up to this beautiful $100,000

hotty and we get the GPS trackers out and they're from a company called Imetric. We call them Imetric and they told us if you'll give us the serial numbers for the trackers then we can give you the username, the account and what vehicles they have and they'll be able to show you the command to locate. Investigators are given access to Mani's database and can see every time someone tries to locate Melvin's car. So when you go into the I'm metric website and you go to Mani's account, you get a list of every vehicle

he's got. And you literally go up and there's a little icon that says, CML, command to locate. You click it and it gives you latitude and longitude of where the vehicle is. This really gets freaky the day of the murder. You can see they're doing a Command and Locate every 20 or 30 minutes.

Somebody was literally hunting Melvin Brinnell down like a dog. You know, in order to prosecute the devil, you got to go to hell to get your witnesses. A gentleman approaches him with a clock with an extended magazine and says, give me the package and the bag. There is this expectation to uphold this very image, even if it gets them in trouble. In their investigation into the brutal murder of rap artist Melvin Vernel III, known by his hip-hop moniker as Little Fat.

Sandy Springs detectives have followed leads and collected evidence, narrowing their focus to a group of four men. As cell phone data and GPS locator evidence begin to expose how this crime was committed, the question of why continues to elude investigators. You know, in order to prosecute the devil, you got to go to hell to get your witnesses, right?

And so in this case, we needed someone to provide inside information that would give us step-by-step road map as to not just why it happened, but how it happened. Investigators know their best chance is to focus on the weak link in the group. I called to Sensei White in Redwood, California. And I said, hey, Gris, you said, yes, sir. I said, I'm Detective JT Williams,

saying, he's Frank's police, how are you? I said, I'd love to fly out there tonight. I can be out there in seven to eight hours, sit down and get your side of the story. You know, say any springs. Yeah, you know where Northside Hospital is? To which he stated he had a lawyer and didn't want to talk. I said, okay, and I said just one thing. Don't say anything, but just listen.

Man, he threw you under the bus. He's told us everything, so I'll see you next month. Police wait to see. He's told us everything, so I'll see you next month. Police wait to see. Will calling DeCensei White's bluff turn into the confession detective so desperately hope for? DeCensei White's lawyer ends up calling the district attorney's office and says they want to cut a deal.

We met on a Saturday. DeCensei White had hired Bruce Harvey, great prominent lawyer. Bruce Harvey actually approached me in front of the courthouse. It's a lesson. I just want to know why Calvin Johnson is not on the indictment. Calvin's name had been brought up before

and as an associate who had been speaking with Red and Grizz. Calvin was living in a metro Atlanta area at the time. His full-time job was basically to traffic marijuana from Atlanta to Montgomery. The couriers had been on the lookout speaking with Red and Gris. Calvin was living in a metro Atlanta area at the time. His full-time job was basically to traffic marijuana from Atlanta to Montgomery. The couriers have nothing to do with the money. Just simple bring a package, drop it off, and come back.

Within the next few days, we dig through the phone records and we actually now see Calvin Johnson and disense white and El Dorado Red are all together. Where one phone is, the other phone is. We had done the homework. Found him, he was a basketball coach in a North Powell alto area. He has served with a material witness subpoena

in the Sloan back to Atlanta, where he's offered a deal to testify. Calvin becomes important because he explained to us how he was robbed at a BP gas station. On that specific date, Calvin Johnson pulls up to the BP on Metropolitan Parkway gets gas. He had five bricks of marijuana. And a gentleman approaches him with a glock

with an extended magazine. And says, give me the package in the back. He says, I reached your own back, gave them the package. Said the suspect took off running. Calvin said, he sees a tricked-out Cadillac black and color speed off. So Calvin calls the sense of white. And says, hey, I messed up.

And when they heard the Glock, the extended magazine, the black Cadillac, that was the current vehicle that Melvin Brinnell was driving. They started putting two and two together and realized it was Melvin Brinnell. That had stolen the marijuana. And they were going to get them for it. They had to make a point.

But why would Lou Fatt risk the ire of this sensei white for 10 pounds of marijuana? So based on the money that these guys could be making, it's really hard to say why Lil Fatt would want to do a robbery. There is this expectation to portray this real lived inin street credibility. I think for a lot of these artists,

there is this expectation to uphold this very image, even if it gets them in trouble. I wouldn't describe Lil Fett as a true gangster. I mean, he was a young, talented kid that had a promising rap career in front of him. He had a hit that was making some traction. Unfortunately, little fat, he had one foot in, one foot out. He was leading two lives, and he just old drugs from the wrong person.

As the four suspects motives begin to crystallize, person. As the four suspects motives begin to crystallize, investigators are still puzzled by Mani Chopai of's involvement. What does he have to gain by seeing Melvin Vernell dead? That's a $64 million question, right? What was Mani's intent by providing this information to Gris and Oda Rottle Red? It's not like Mani was dealing drugs or moving any product, but there's no doubt that by allowing red and Gris to track little fat, that facilitated the murder of little

fat. Investigators struggle to understand why manning would risk the FBI's protection as a government informant to help plot a rapper's assassination? Then, they look back at his criminal history. We learned that Manny had just gotten off federal probation for flipping all these cars, doing this car trickery. Title fraud, bin fraud, and was told if he gets caught doing the car thing again, he's going to jail.

He's getting a lot of time. And then Melbourne, Vernal gets caught speeding. He's renting one of Manie's cars. They run the tag, the vehicle comes up stolen. So he goes to jail. Well, Melbourne, Vernal's not going to plead guilty in court. Melbourne's like, this is a rental car. Why am I going to be charged with possessing a stolen vehicle?

Mani knew that if Melbourne Vennel didn't plead guilty, he was going to expose his car ring. That was very concerning to Mani, that he was going to expose that he was back in the car business skin. So when Desensei Y and El Dorado Red approach Mani and say, hey, we got to find Melvin El, we got to handle business. They said, Mani, he's excited.

He's like, yeah, kill the kid. I can't stand a little bastard. Let's get rid of this kid and move on. In Atlanta's quiet suburb of Sandy Springs, investigators have been unraveling the complicated murder case of a promising young musician, Melvin Lil Fadvernell III. At the center, Underworld Auto Hustler

and FBI informant, Mani Chopinov. Detectives discover that Melvin's court date for the stolen vehicle charge was only days away when he was ruthlessly murdered. So now you have the murder, and a day after the murder, the district attorney's office gets a phone call from NHL Pives lawyer. Hey, you dropped the case. Melon Reynolds murdered last night,

so you know, you can close out a stone car case. Thanks, bye, click. Very concerning. Mani's attorney has given police the final nail in his clients' coffin by revealing a motive. No more Melvin, no more stolen car case. Chopin Eves' own statements to the FBI also confirm he helped guide Melvin's killers to their prey.

So in May 2013, two months after the shooting, investigators are able to make their last arrest in the case. And so we charged Manitchapaya because Manit provided all the tracking information so that Gris and Rig track little fat. With the pieces put together, it appears the murder of little fat began when the rap star took his onstage personality too far by robbing a drug courier.

Gris, the Nelerado Red, you go to Mani to track him down. Mani's upset over the stolen car case. The perfect storm was starting to evolve. It becomes clear that the GPS tracking system supplied by Manny allowed Gris and Eldorado Red to track Movans movements and give them the opportunity to break in and pillage Movans house in search of the stolen marijuana.

In the next day, they pick up the track in the afternoon, and ultimately leads them to Northside Hospital to the women's center. El Rado Red calls Marie's Connor and calls Deandre Washington and said, there's the car. We know that Melvin Vernell goes upstairs, hangs out with fiancee, they eat,

and he's leaving to go work on some music. When Marie's Conner and Deandre Washington run up, Deandre puts six rounds to the back window. Two years after the murder, in August of 2014, trials begin for three of the five suspects. The Sensei White, also known as Gris, became a cooperator for the state

and actually testified at the trial of this case. You got a eight-year sentence to probation in exchange for his truthful cooperation in this case. The Sensei White identified DeAndre Washington and Conner as the individuals who were at Northside Hospital and carried out the murder at Red's Instruction. After an arduous three-week trial,

the jury finds Washington and Conner guilty of murder. El Dorado Red is convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. Manitio Payav shields himself behind a legal technicality. In this case, the court ruled that the communications between the FBI and Manitio Paya couldn't be used to prosecute him. So while we had a lot of evidence against Manny, we couldn't use that evidence, and ultimately, this case got dismissed.

This job is all about honor, integrity, doing the right thing. There has to be a voice for the victims. This is definitely the most complicated case I've ever worked. Every emotion that I've ever felt, I've never felt, I've never felt, I've never felt, I've never felt, I've never felt, I've never felt is definitely the most complicated case I've ever worked. Every emotion that you could have was felt during this case. Ultimately, at the end, holding the family,

sitting with them, holding hands when the sentence was coming out, just wiping away tears of joy that we were able to put these people behind bars where they belong. MUSIC They took someone away from me. Melvin was like, he was really sweet, and gentle, and caring.

He was a really good father. That just wanted to just rap. Like, that's all he was trying to do. You know, keep doing for his mom and take care of his, you know, his family. So I just miss him. I miss him around us. And I miss being a family with him. you