Two men were arrested Wednesday in the D.C. murder of an up-and-coming rapper from Memphis, Tennessee.
Albert Smith, who performed as CEO Bezzal, was shot to death in Southeast D.C. in June 2020. One of the men now in custody for the murder worked at a D.C. high school as a teaching aide.
It’s not clear whether the two suspects knew that the 21-year-old they’re accused of shooting after a craps game was a budding rapper, whose video “Rockstar” had over 100,000 views on YouTube.
Smith’s murder made headlines in online music forums, and one producer offered a $100,000 bounty to apprehend the killers.
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The shooting happened June 14, 2020, just after 7 a.m. in the 1300 block of Congress Street SE.
Smith was fatally wounded, a second man was seriously injured, and a third was treated for a minor injury.
The police report indicates that the motive for the shooting was $10,000 in cash.
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News4 learned that one of the men charged, 34-year-old Marcel Gavin of Northeast D.C., worked as a behavior technician at Dunbar High School.
It’s not clear why Smith was in D.C. His Instagram account showed he’d been in Atlanta two days earlier.
According to the police report, the two men injured in the shooting incident are also from Tennessee.
Police said the investigation continues and more arrests could be possible.
