One man has been arrested in connection with the December slaying of a local rapper that stemmed from a botched drug deal, according to court documents.
Montgomery County police said 29-year-old Dennis Mackabee was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 24-year-old Franklin Amobi.
Amobi, known in the local music community as a rapper who used the name “Frank Diggy,” was found dead from a gunshot wound on the 11400 block of Stewart Lane in the White Oak area of Silver Spring at about 6:40 a.m. on Dec. 27.
The circumstances behind the killing had puzzled investigators. Just last month, police passed out flyers and set up a digital signpost at a nearby bus stop in an effort to solicit tips from pedestrians or bus riders who may have witnessed the shooting.
On May 11, Prince William County police notified Montgomery authorities that investigators knew of an informant who purported to have information about Amobi’s death.
Montgomery investigators interviewed the informant, who claimed to have met with the perpetrators shortly after the murder and learned about the killing from them, and that person’s information led to Mackabee’s arrest, according to court documents made public Tuesday.
The informant, who was not identified further, said that Mackabee and two other men were involved in the killing, and the three men reported that Amobi was slain after a drug deal turned sour.
The three were meeting with Amobi to buy crack cocaine from him, court documents say.
As Mackabee was negotiating the drug transaction, one of his acquaintances approached Amobi, brandished a handgun and announced a robbery, the documents say. The man fired the weapon and chased Amobi across the street, according to the documents.
Amobi fell to the ground. The three men fled from the scene and met with the informant, according to court documents.
Neither of the other two men have been charged in the killing, according to police and court records.
Capt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman, said investigation remains ongoing.
Mackabee was taken into custody Monday afternoon at a relative’s home in Chevy Chase, Starks said.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday whether Mackabee, who remains jailed, had an attorney. A bond hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
