Notorious B.I.G. also was known as Biggie Smalls was among the top performers in the rap entertainment industry during the 1990s. To many people, he was the most celebrated rap artist ever and enjoyed the love of most American citizens. However, on March 9, 1997, Biggie met his death. He was seen leaving a party in the company of his entourage and many other hip hop artists and other people who had attended the party. He was shot four times in the chest while he stopped at a red light by an identified man in a blue suit driving a Chevrolet. The FBI joined the case after five years and published hundreds of investigation notes and reports from its probe. The readers were allowed a behind the scenes look at the ongoing work, but the documents got censored hiding the names of suspects, investigators, and sources. But in spite of the severe investigations, no arrests were made.
Review of the B.I.G. Case
Multiple source information about Smalls’ killing forced the FBI to open its case in December 2002 five years after the incident. According to Duke (2011), many sources came in with the theory that the murder of Smalls was due to retaliation for the killing of Tupac Shakur and was successfully carried out with the involvement of a rogue LAPD officer. The case was however closed in January 2005 after the L.A. attorney argued that the case had collected enough evidence for indictments. Among the files presented, an L.A. Times newspaper had a story suggesting the pressure from the LAPD for the FBI to drop its probe (Duke, 2011). Smalls’ mother and his estate in a case against the city accused an LAPD officer of being involved in her son’s murder, yet the police were ignoring evidence that proves it. The lawsuit was dismissed and declared a mistrial.
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Search and Seizure and the B.I.G. Case
Many reasons can make Search and Seizure related to a case. It can range from the manner of gathering evidence to corrupt practices in the process. Corruption is very evident in the B.I.G. Case as witnesses cover for others and the police department itself is also caught up in the lies and deception such as the detective who was intentionally hiding statements made by an informant which links the slaying to former officers (Sullivan, 2005). In the B.I.G. Case, the trial begins with a pre-trial hearing which allows each side, the prosecution, and defense to call their witnesses and prove their arguments. An example of the opening statement for the trial will be like, “today we will explain how Biggie Smalls was targeted for execution by the defendant and prove that Marion Knight, the Death Row Records owner hired a gang member to murder Smalls in retaliation for Shakur’s death. That is why we ask for a guilty verdict for the defendant.”
The lawsuit filed by Smalls’ family against the city argued that David Mack, a former LAPD officer had a conspiracy with Knight and hired a friend to commit the murder. The lawsuit ended with a declaration of a mistrial as a detective was purposely hiding statements that connect Mark and Rafael Perez to the murder. The two former LAPD officers have gotten involved in scandals that even involve planting guns or drugs to suspects and fabricating arrest reports connecting them one way or another to the killing (Connecting the dots). Perez, Mark, and Knight are the main suspects in this case. Poole found Mack’s reports to be interesting since he appeared to idolize the slain rapper Shakur with a shrine of his memorabilia in his garage. He, however, became the center of the investigation when Poole learned about the first person who visited him in a jail known as Amir Muhammad who distinctly resembled the composite drawing of the shooter. It was then more evident to Poole that Mack had a more significant part to play in the murder than just being a corrupt cop. This evidence nailed and put the former detective at the center of B.I.G.s murder and Knight was the main link between the killings of Shakur and Smalls.
Sean Combs was at the same party with Smalls before he died. There is also a video taken by tourists which include Combs who left the party just a few moments before the fatal incident which makes him a suspect in this case. Another hard suspect in Biggie’s killing is a prominent Southside Crip Keith Davis. A black Chevy Impala got found in his home after the shooting indicating that he was present in the fire which took place only six months earlier. Another potential suspect is the Texas-based rapper Tony Draper whose car got spotted near the crime scene at around the time Smalls got shot. The witnesses will be detective Russell Poole who will act as the expert witness on behalf of Smalls’ family.
On direct examination, the witness is asked to introduce himself and talk a little about what he does for a living. He is got asked where he was and what he saw when the incident took place. As for cross-examination, the witness got questioned about the responses he made to ensure they are factual. The closing statement will be like “today we have the burden of proof showing that Biggie Smalls’ killing was planned and deliberate after the death of Tupac Shakur. We ask for your guilty verdict.”
References
Connecting the Dots: Frontline. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/connect/noflash.html
Duke, A. (2011, Apr). FBI reveals documents in Biggie Smalls death probe. CNN.com. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/04/08/biggie.smalls.files/
Sullivan, R. (2005). The Unsolved Mystery of the Notorious B.I.G . Rolling Stone (pp. 124–147).
