After New Orleans rapper BTY YoungN was shot and killed last September, two suspects were indicted for his murder. Now, charges against the two men — Darryl Bannister Jr. and Kyron Williams — have been dropped. According to Nola.com, their second-degree murder charges were dismissed on February 23.
A spokesman for the New Orleans district attorney said, “Based upon the totality of evidence available, we decided it was not prudent to proceed to trial at this time.”
BTY YoungN was killed last April outside of a gas station in New Orleans’ Hollygrove area just days before he was meeting a lawyer to discuss signing with Cash Money Records.
The investigation “remains open and ongoing.”
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(The original version of this article was written by D.L. Chandler and published on May 14, 2017. It can be found below.)
The shooting death of rising New Orleans rapper BTY YoungN last month sent shock waves throughout the region with many scrambling to make sense of the killing. City police have identified a suspect in the murder of the 27-year-old Rich Gang affiliate and are currently on the lookout.
BTY YoungN, born Desmone Jerome, was shot several times and killed while at a gas station on the night of April 29 in the Hollygrove section of town. NOPD are on the hunt for 31-year-old Daryl Bannister Jr. and are looking to charge the man with second-degree murder when located, reports the Times-Picayune. According to the court records obtained by The Advocate, Bannister admitted to an unrelated shooting during an investigation which resulted in a guilty plea to a state racketeering case involving a Pigeon Town street gang known as “The Taliban.”
BTY, who possessed a criminal record, left his street ties behind to focus on a music career according to a mentor who spoke to local outlets last month. Things were improving on that front for BTY, this after winning the “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” at the 2016 Nola Music Awards.
