Photo: Steven Hirsch/AP/Shutterstock
Kidd Creole, one of the founding members of rap group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for the murder of John Jolly, according to theAssociated Press.
“Mr. Jolly’s death was devastating to his family and those who knew him,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Wednesday viaABC7 New York. “Every life we lose to violent crime ripples throughout our entire city, and we will continue to ensure everyone in our borough can live their lives with the sense of safety and security they deserve.”
Added D.A. Bragg: “This case makes clear that if you commit violent crime, we will hold you accountable, and I thank our team for their hard work achieving justice in this matter.”
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five in 1984.Anthony Barboza/Getty
The 62-year-old rapper – whose real name is Nathaniel Glover – stabbed 55-year-old Jolly twice in the chest while on his way to work in Midtown Manhattan in August 2017 after the man had asked him, “What’s up?”, perPix11.
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“I think today’s sentence is egregious and extreme. While I am disappointed, I continue to have faith in our judicial system. My focus is now on the appeal process. There are many appealable issues, specifically the denial of Mr. Glover being able to assert the justification of self defense, despite the fact that he was retreating and the victim followed behind him,” Celestin tells PEOPLE in a statement.
At Glover’s trial, Assistant District Attorney Mark Dahl told the jury the former rap artist confessed to police he had not stabbed the man in self-defense, but because he thought he was hitting on him.
“The defendant confessed to pulling out a kitchen knife and repeatedly thrusting it into the body of a stranger on the street, killing him,” Dahl said viaABC7 New York. “Was there anything that would prevent him from simply running away from Mr. Jolly? No.”
source: people.com
