WEBVTT 00:00:02.632 --> 00:00:04.801 A terrifying public execution 00:00:04.843 --> 00:00:07.345 in the parking lot of a busy public hospital. 00:00:09.055 --> 00:00:12.684 The most obvious evidence was the victim's white Audi A7 00:00:12.726 --> 00:00:15.812 that had six bullet holes in the back window, 00:00:15.854 --> 00:00:18.106 and to the right of that are six shell casings 00:00:18.148 --> 00:00:19.607 laying on the ground. 00:00:19.607 --> 00:00:23.319 There were several witnesses that observed two males 00:00:23.361 --> 00:00:25.447 that were outside the parking deck. 00:00:25.488 --> 00:00:27.449 A beloved Atlanta rapper, 00:00:27.490 --> 00:00:30.869 Melvin Vernell III, AKA Lil Phat, 00:00:30.910 --> 00:00:34.330 whose rising star is brutally extinguished. 00:00:34.372 --> 00:00:36.666 He was a young, talented kid 00:00:36.666 --> 00:00:39.794 that had a promising rap career in front of him. 00:00:39.794 --> 00:00:42.088 I was shocked to learn that this guy 00:00:42.088 --> 00:00:43.631 was the CI for the FBI. 00:00:43.673 --> 00:00:46.384 He kept the books for the Russian mob. 00:00:47.802 --> 00:00:49.846 So I know there were some rumors about 00:00:49.888 --> 00:00:51.931 there being some disagreements between Lil Phat and Boosie 00:00:52.015 --> 00:00:53.391 over the residuals. 00:00:55.935 --> 00:00:57.437 The perfect storm was starting to evolve. 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:02.275 Sometimes success can come with a deadly price. 00:01:02.317 --> 00:01:03.943 We began to get a clear picture 00:01:03.985 --> 00:01:06.112 that this was more of a targeted hit 00:01:06.154 --> 00:01:07.906 rather than a random shooting. 00:01:10.158 --> 00:01:11.743 This really gets freaky. 00:01:11.785 --> 00:01:15.288 Somebody was literally hunting him down like a dog. 00:01:32.722 --> 00:01:35.266 Just a stone's throw north of Atlanta, 00:01:35.308 --> 00:01:37.727 Sandy Springs is among the nicest 00:01:37.811 --> 00:01:40.105 of the leafy suburbs the metro area 00:01:40.146 --> 00:01:41.523 has to brag about. 00:01:41.564 --> 00:01:43.817 Sandy Springs is a city 00:01:43.858 --> 00:01:45.652 that sits on top of Atlanta, Georgia. 00:01:45.693 --> 00:01:47.946 It's a very diverse city. 00:01:47.987 --> 00:01:49.823 It's one of the newest cities in Georgia. 00:01:49.823 --> 00:01:53.159 We have very affluent people that live here. 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.411 As a community that prides itself 00:01:55.453 --> 00:01:57.580 in having the best of everything, 00:01:57.664 --> 00:01:59.374 it's no surprise that they boast 00:01:59.415 --> 00:02:02.836 on one of the country's most renowned maternity wards. 00:02:02.877 --> 00:02:05.421 Northside Hospital is like the baby factory 00:02:05.463 --> 00:02:06.965 of United States 00:02:07.006 --> 00:02:09.759 where so many lives and happy memories 00:02:09.801 --> 00:02:13.179 are developed because people are giving birth there. 00:02:15.890 --> 00:02:20.019 But one night in June of 2012, 00:02:20.061 --> 00:02:24.023 the miracle of birth and tragedy of death collide. 00:02:24.065 --> 00:02:26.109 It was around 6:40 PM, 00:02:26.151 --> 00:02:29.028 and the dispatchers dispatched units 00:02:29.070 --> 00:02:30.655 to Northside Hospital 00:02:30.697 --> 00:02:32.615 in the parking lot at the Women's Center. 00:02:32.657 --> 00:02:34.826 There was a person shot. 00:02:34.868 --> 00:02:36.661 We had an officer come over the radio 00:02:36.703 --> 00:02:38.288 and say they needed detectives, 00:02:38.371 --> 00:02:41.207 so we knew it was gonna be something of a larger scale. 00:02:41.249 --> 00:02:44.043 We didn't know if we had an active shooter. 00:02:44.127 --> 00:02:46.296 The shooter might still be in the area. 00:02:46.337 --> 00:02:47.755 Were they on scene? 00:02:47.797 --> 00:02:49.424 But we did have a tactical unit 00:02:49.465 --> 00:02:50.884 clear the parking deck 00:02:50.884 --> 00:02:53.386 at every level to ensure that the suspects were gone. 00:02:53.428 --> 00:02:56.890 The victim had been removed from the car by hospital staff 00:02:56.931 --> 00:02:59.559 at that time and rushed into the hospital 00:02:59.601 --> 00:03:01.227 to perform life saving measures. 00:03:04.314 --> 00:03:07.192 Approximately 10 to 15 minutes after my arrival, 00:03:07.233 --> 00:03:09.068 I was informed that he had been pronounced dead 00:03:09.152 --> 00:03:10.778 in the emergency room. 00:03:14.073 --> 00:03:18.578 The most obvious evidence was the victim's white Audi A7 00:03:18.661 --> 00:03:21.080 that was in a parking space partially out 00:03:21.122 --> 00:03:23.708 that had six bullet holes in the back window, 00:03:23.750 --> 00:03:26.419 and to the right of that are six shell casings 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:28.046 laying on the ground. 00:03:28.087 --> 00:03:30.131 Detectives note that these aren't 00:03:30.173 --> 00:03:31.883 just any shell casings. 00:03:31.925 --> 00:03:34.177 They're specifically designed to work 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:38.181 in only one particular semi-automatic pistol. 00:03:38.264 --> 00:03:42.310 We knew the murder weapon used was a Glock 357 SIG, 00:03:42.352 --> 00:03:44.729 which is a Glock handgun that has ported barrels. 00:03:44.771 --> 00:03:47.774 Inside the car, investigators find blood 00:03:47.857 --> 00:03:49.692 on the driver's seat and dashboard 00:03:49.776 --> 00:03:51.861 and a gun on the floor. 00:03:51.945 --> 00:03:54.489 The victim had a Glock 9-millimeter handgun 00:03:54.530 --> 00:03:56.366 with an extended magazine. 00:03:56.407 --> 00:03:58.701 The gun was fully loaded with a 30-round magazine 00:03:58.785 --> 00:04:01.120 and one round in the chamber. It had not been fired. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:10.380 It appears the shooting had been an ambush. 00:04:10.421 --> 00:04:12.799 The victim laying on a hospital bed 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:14.884 with four bullet wounds in his back 00:04:14.968 --> 00:04:17.512 is a young, Black man in his late teens. 00:04:17.553 --> 00:04:19.138 He has no ID on him, 00:04:19.222 --> 00:04:21.641 so all the police have to go on 00:04:21.724 --> 00:04:24.310 is the car in the parking garage. 00:04:25.395 --> 00:04:29.649 When we ran the license plate of the Audi the victim was in 00:04:29.732 --> 00:04:31.776 and determined the owner of the vehicle 00:04:31.818 --> 00:04:33.820 was a male that lived out in Covington, Georgia, 00:04:33.820 --> 00:04:36.030 we obtained a picture of the owner. 00:04:36.072 --> 00:04:38.241 We then texted the detective 00:04:38.324 --> 00:04:39.993 over in the emergency room that picture. 00:04:40.034 --> 00:04:42.662 He looked at the victim to which he stated 00:04:42.662 --> 00:04:44.247 they are two totally separate people. 00:04:45.915 --> 00:04:47.959 So we then utilized a fingerprint scanner 00:04:48.001 --> 00:04:49.919 and scanned our victim, and it was able 00:04:49.961 --> 00:04:52.422 to determine he was Melvin Vernell III. 00:04:52.505 --> 00:04:55.842 When they run Melvin's name through the police database, 00:04:55.883 --> 00:04:59.178 investigators find only a recent traffic stop. 00:04:59.262 --> 00:05:02.557 Police need to determine why this 19 year-old 00:05:02.598 --> 00:05:06.602 was in the parking lot of this prominent maternity ward. 00:05:06.644 --> 00:05:09.647 At that time, we only knew him as Melvin Vernell III, 00:05:09.689 --> 00:05:13.609 and had no knowledge of why he was there. 00:05:13.651 --> 00:05:17.655 We were really concentrating on figuring that out. 00:05:17.697 --> 00:05:20.199 You know, he had to be there for a reason, 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.035 and another piece of evidence I got 00:05:22.076 --> 00:05:24.871 was when my commander handed me a bag 00:05:24.912 --> 00:05:27.040 with over $5,000 in cash 00:05:27.081 --> 00:05:31.544 from the victim's front right pants pocket. 00:05:31.586 --> 00:05:35.298 The victim was in possession of two cell phones, 00:05:35.340 --> 00:05:38.301 one of them continued to ring with the name 00:05:38.384 --> 00:05:40.136 "Baby Ma" on the screen. 00:05:40.178 --> 00:05:43.139 We applied for a search warrant for phone records. 00:05:43.181 --> 00:05:46.184 While detectives wait for the search warrant to clear 00:05:46.225 --> 00:05:48.895 in order to investigate the victim's phone, 00:05:48.936 --> 00:05:51.314 police continue to work the scene. 00:05:51.397 --> 00:05:53.900 We immediately begin to canvas the area. 00:05:53.941 --> 00:05:56.319 Several witnesses observed two males 00:05:56.402 --> 00:05:57.862 outside the parking deck 00:05:57.904 --> 00:06:00.114 just before this shooting happened. 00:06:00.156 --> 00:06:03.034 Witnesses consistently described the suspects 00:06:03.076 --> 00:06:06.079 as a tall, Black male, 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:08.122 muscular build, approximately 6'1", 00:06:08.206 --> 00:06:13.086 185 pounds, and the shooter who had a black gun, 00:06:13.127 --> 00:06:16.464 was approximately 5'4" with a short afro. 00:06:18.341 --> 00:06:20.843 There was a camera approximately 15 feet away 00:06:20.927 --> 00:06:22.678 in the parking deck. 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:24.097 When you look at the car, 00:06:24.138 --> 00:06:25.765 and you look over your left shoulder, 00:06:25.807 --> 00:06:28.434 there's the little bubble. I mean, there's the camera. 00:06:28.434 --> 00:06:30.853 And we were very excited. 00:06:30.937 --> 00:06:32.397 Unfortunately, Northside Hospital 00:06:32.438 --> 00:06:35.942 at that time were still utilizing VHS tapes. 00:06:35.942 --> 00:06:38.152 When they ejected it and pulled it out, 00:06:38.194 --> 00:06:40.530 the machine had been eating the tape, 00:06:40.613 --> 00:06:43.658 so we were unable to obtain any video whatsoever. 00:06:43.741 --> 00:06:46.452 The evidence was destroyed. It was heartbreaking. 00:06:50.665 --> 00:06:53.000 When we got the search warrant signed 00:06:53.042 --> 00:06:55.336 for the victim's cell phones, 00:06:55.378 --> 00:06:57.630 30 minutes later, somebody called him, 00:06:57.672 --> 00:06:59.549 so I answered the phone. 00:06:59.632 --> 00:07:01.884 A young lady stated that was her fiancé's phone. 00:07:01.926 --> 00:07:04.429 She was upstairs in labor and delivery, high risk, 00:07:04.470 --> 00:07:06.139 was on bedrest. 00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:07.682 I was in the hospital 00:07:07.765 --> 00:07:09.976 because I was going into labor with my daughter. 00:07:10.017 --> 00:07:12.395 They was trying to prevent me from going to labor 00:07:12.437 --> 00:07:15.148 because I was only seven and a half months. 00:07:15.189 --> 00:07:18.443 I called Phat's phone, and he wasn't answering, 00:07:18.484 --> 00:07:21.779 and finally, the detective, he was like, 00:07:21.821 --> 00:07:24.574 "This is, like, Sandy Spring Police." 00:07:24.615 --> 00:07:27.702 Detective Williams heads into the hospital 00:07:27.743 --> 00:07:30.163 to handle the unenviable task 00:07:30.204 --> 00:07:32.707 of delivering the devastating news 00:07:32.748 --> 00:07:35.626 to Melvin's fiancée. 00:07:35.668 --> 00:07:38.838 The death notification that we gave to Alnese Frazier 00:07:38.880 --> 00:07:40.756 was very hard. 00:07:40.798 --> 00:07:42.383 When you're holding her hand 00:07:42.425 --> 00:07:43.843 and you have to explain to her, 00:07:43.926 --> 00:07:46.429 "I regret to inform you that your fiancé was shot 00:07:46.512 --> 00:07:48.890 and murdered a few minutes ago outside." 00:07:48.973 --> 00:07:51.184 That was very hard. 00:07:51.225 --> 00:07:54.437 I didn't know what to think, what happened. 00:07:54.520 --> 00:07:57.273 It was just, like, I've never felt something 00:07:57.315 --> 00:07:59.984 that bad that happened to me ever. 00:08:03.863 --> 00:08:05.448 When you have a case like this, 00:08:05.531 --> 00:08:07.533 you've gotta jump into this kid's lifestyle head on 00:08:07.575 --> 00:08:09.660 and conduct a victimology. 00:08:09.702 --> 00:08:12.538 Find out who he's hanging out with, what he's doing. 00:08:12.538 --> 00:08:14.207 Is there a beef? 00:08:14.290 --> 00:08:17.376 Investigators question Melvin's fiancée 00:08:17.460 --> 00:08:19.712 who says that he's a local celebrity 00:08:19.795 --> 00:08:21.797 in Atlanta's music scene. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:25.384 I was told that the victim was a rapper 00:08:25.384 --> 00:08:27.762 and that he went by the name Lil Phat. 00:08:28.095 --> 00:08:30.389 He was really being set up for success. 00:08:34.018 --> 00:08:37.104 I met Phat after a show at Denny's, 00:08:37.146 --> 00:08:39.565 and then we exchanged numbers that night, 00:08:39.565 --> 00:08:42.360 Me and Phat lived in Sandy Springs. 00:08:42.401 --> 00:08:45.154 It was, like, a five-bedroom house. 00:08:45.196 --> 00:08:47.281 It was nice, really nice, 00:08:47.323 --> 00:08:49.492 and every time, like, he would go on the road, 00:08:49.575 --> 00:08:52.995 he would bring his daughter something back like candy, 00:08:53.037 --> 00:08:55.957 toys, anything. He was a great father. 00:08:59.085 --> 00:09:01.754 Investigators ask Lil Phat's fiancée 00:09:01.837 --> 00:09:04.423 to take them through Phat's timeline of the day 00:09:04.423 --> 00:09:06.592 leading up to the murder. 00:09:06.676 --> 00:09:09.345 Alnese Frazier walked us through where he was going. 00:09:09.428 --> 00:09:10.805 We learned that Melvin Vernell 00:09:10.846 --> 00:09:12.974 had been out that day in Atlanta, 00:09:13.015 --> 00:09:14.433 And later in the day, 00:09:14.475 --> 00:09:16.269 he went up to the hospital room. 00:09:16.310 --> 00:09:18.145 They talked for a little bit, 00:09:18.187 --> 00:09:20.648 and he told her he was leaving 00:09:20.690 --> 00:09:22.275 and was gonna go meet up with his crew 00:09:22.275 --> 00:09:23.859 and work on some records. 00:09:23.943 --> 00:09:25.987 So we learned that he had walked out to the car 00:09:26.070 --> 00:09:28.406 to leave to go meet with his friends. 00:09:28.447 --> 00:09:30.950 We obtained a search warrant for the victim, 00:09:30.950 --> 00:09:32.410 Melvin Vernell's house, 00:09:32.451 --> 00:09:33.619 to see if there was anything there 00:09:33.661 --> 00:09:36.247 that might have any evidentiary value. 00:09:36.289 --> 00:09:39.750 We got there, and the back door was kicked in. 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:42.962 We didn't know what to think at that time, 00:09:42.962 --> 00:09:44.714 but if we were to put two and two together, 00:09:44.755 --> 00:09:46.382 possibly the people that killed him 00:09:48.092 --> 00:09:50.219 Which then became concerning for us 00:09:50.219 --> 00:09:52.054 because at that time, we were beginning 00:09:52.096 --> 00:09:55.641 to now realize he was targeted. 00:09:55.683 --> 00:09:59.061 Somebody was waiting on him. Somebody wanted him dead. 00:09:59.103 --> 00:10:01.731 Hey, something's not right about this. 00:10:01.772 --> 00:10:05.067 There's more to this than just a killing 00:10:05.109 --> 00:10:07.236 that had taken place in a parking deck. 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:10.406 He would rent these luxury vehicles 00:10:10.406 --> 00:10:13.618 to individuals in the game. 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:15.119 You know, drug dealers, 00:10:15.202 --> 00:10:17.455 individuals who had large amounts of cash. 00:10:17.496 --> 00:10:20.416 There were some rumors about there being some disagreements 00:10:20.416 --> 00:10:23.210 between Lil Phat and Boosie over the residuals. 00:10:23.252 --> 00:10:24.837 You got Lil Boosie, 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:28.215 who was accused of committing multiple murders. 00:10:28.257 --> 00:10:30.426 I felt like he was-- wanted to make a point. 00:10:40.728 --> 00:10:42.897 Sandy Springs homicide detectives, 00:10:42.938 --> 00:10:45.232 like many in Atlanta's music scene, 00:10:45.274 --> 00:10:46.651 aren't sure if the murder 00:10:46.734 --> 00:10:49.487 of Melvin "Lil Phat" Vernell III 00:10:49.528 --> 00:10:52.239 is another hip-hop feud turned violent, 00:10:52.281 --> 00:10:55.117 or if it's something more personal. 00:10:55.159 --> 00:10:56.619 What I remember of Lil Phat's death 00:10:56.661 --> 00:10:59.622 was that it was just hard to really make sense of it. 00:10:59.664 --> 00:11:02.708 He was so young, and he was still kind of coming up. 00:11:02.750 --> 00:11:05.586 I think that is part of a larger 00:11:05.628 --> 00:11:08.631 and unfortunate phenomenon in hip-hop 00:11:08.714 --> 00:11:12.301 where we are seeing a lot of these artists die young, 00:11:12.301 --> 00:11:14.178 a lot of times because of shootings. 00:11:14.261 --> 00:11:17.640 So, you know, people were just struggling to make sense of it. 00:11:19.684 --> 00:11:21.686 Within hours of the shooting, 00:11:21.727 --> 00:11:24.146 detectives discover that Melvin's house 00:11:24.188 --> 00:11:27.316 has been ransacked, and takes the investigation 00:11:27.400 --> 00:11:29.652 into a significantly ominous direction. 00:11:29.694 --> 00:11:31.654 You could tell that somebody had been in there 00:11:31.696 --> 00:11:35.282 looking around trying to find something. 00:11:35.282 --> 00:11:36.826 You could smell a strong odor of marijuana 00:11:36.909 --> 00:11:38.911 where large quantities of marijuana had been. 00:11:38.953 --> 00:11:41.288 We thought that they may have found it and seized it. 00:11:41.330 --> 00:11:44.625 With evidence of drugs taken from the victim's home 00:11:44.625 --> 00:11:47.378 and a public execution the next day, 00:11:47.420 --> 00:11:50.005 it's no fluke for police. 00:11:50.089 --> 00:11:53.843 The two crime scenes are obviously linked. 00:11:56.178 --> 00:11:58.139 Possibly the people that killed him went there 00:11:58.180 --> 00:11:59.890 first looking for him 00:11:59.932 --> 00:12:02.643 and then found him at the hospital, 00:12:02.643 --> 00:12:05.312 and that's now lending a lot of credence to that idea 00:12:05.312 --> 00:12:06.981 that this was a hit. 00:12:07.022 --> 00:12:08.733 The biggest question we had is 00:12:08.774 --> 00:12:10.526 how did they know he was at the hospital? 00:12:10.609 --> 00:12:12.027 If we can determine how the suspects 00:12:12.069 --> 00:12:13.487 knew he was there, 00:12:13.487 --> 00:12:16.824 we felt that that would be very advantageous for us. 00:12:16.866 --> 00:12:19.034 Following the trail of breadcrumbs, 00:12:19.076 --> 00:12:21.912 investigators must now question the owner 00:12:21.954 --> 00:12:24.832 of the car Lil Phat was driving. 00:12:24.874 --> 00:12:26.959 So at about 10:00 that night, 00:12:27.001 --> 00:12:29.795 Detective Smith and I left for Covington, Georgia, 00:12:29.837 --> 00:12:33.174 to try to find and to meet the owner 00:12:33.174 --> 00:12:35.760 of the car, the Audi A7. 00:12:35.843 --> 00:12:38.888 At about 11:00, we arrived at his location. 00:12:38.971 --> 00:12:41.515 The owner of the car is shocked when we showed up. 00:12:41.557 --> 00:12:44.935 He was very standoffish. 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:47.646 He told us he was a truck driver. 00:12:47.688 --> 00:12:52.443 So I began to ask him how somebody in his line of work 00:12:52.485 --> 00:12:54.487 could afford the Ford Mustang 00:12:54.528 --> 00:12:57.031 that was sitting outside his residence 00:12:57.031 --> 00:12:59.575 as well as this Audi A7, 00:12:59.617 --> 00:13:03.412 which was a $74,000 car. 00:13:03.454 --> 00:13:06.707 He then began to explain to us that he would buy the car 00:13:06.791 --> 00:13:10.961 and then would send the car to a rental business, 00:13:11.003 --> 00:13:13.547 and the car would be paid off in about one year's time 00:13:13.631 --> 00:13:16.258 as people would rent the car and drive it all over. 00:13:16.300 --> 00:13:18.135 So we begin to ask questions 00:13:18.219 --> 00:13:20.888 to determine who he rented it to, 00:13:20.930 --> 00:13:24.141 and he told us that he would rent the car to Global Elite 00:13:24.225 --> 00:13:26.018 and that he would have to have the person 00:13:26.060 --> 00:13:29.522 that handles all of that, the owner of the company, 00:13:29.563 --> 00:13:33.692 Mani Chulpayev, give us a phone call at a later time. 00:13:33.734 --> 00:13:38.739 Mani Chulpayev would rent these luxury vehicles 00:13:38.739 --> 00:13:42.743 to individuals in the entertainment industry, 00:13:42.743 --> 00:13:45.079 the professional sports industry, 00:13:45.162 --> 00:13:48.040 and also individuals in the game. 00:13:48.082 --> 00:13:49.917 You know, drug dealers, 00:13:49.917 --> 00:13:52.920 individuals who had large amounts of cash. 00:13:52.962 --> 00:13:55.089 I mean, you know, having the latest 00:13:55.172 --> 00:13:58.342 and greatest luxury vehicle is a part of the image, 00:13:58.384 --> 00:13:59.969 and so Mani provided that image 00:14:00.052 --> 00:14:02.680 to many people here in the city of Atlanta. 00:14:04.640 --> 00:14:06.767 Mani called me late that night, 00:14:06.767 --> 00:14:08.352 30 minutes after midnight. 00:14:08.394 --> 00:14:12.106 He said he had rented the car to the victim, Lil Phat, 00:14:12.189 --> 00:14:13.858 and that he'd get me a contract 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:15.860 and a driver's license the next day. 00:14:16.986 --> 00:14:18.571 It was a very short conversation. 00:14:18.612 --> 00:14:20.948 This guy is being very evasive. 00:14:20.990 --> 00:14:23.284 He had no intent of staying on the phone 00:14:23.325 --> 00:14:25.369 for any length of time. 00:14:26.328 --> 00:14:28.289 I got in touch with Detective Williams and said, 00:14:28.289 --> 00:14:30.791 "Hey, something's not right about this. 00:14:30.791 --> 00:14:34.503 "There's more to this than just a killing 00:14:34.587 --> 00:14:36.672 that had taken place in a parking deck." 00:14:39.300 --> 00:14:42.094 Suspicious of Chulpayev's lack of cooperation, 00:14:42.136 --> 00:14:44.638 detectives continue their examination 00:14:44.638 --> 00:14:46.891 of the luxury car entrepreneur 00:14:46.974 --> 00:14:49.143 while Melvin's devastated family 00:14:49.226 --> 00:14:52.730 decides he needs to be laid to rest where he was born, 00:14:52.771 --> 00:14:55.733 Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 00:14:55.816 --> 00:14:57.985 We wanted to go down to the funeral 00:14:57.985 --> 00:14:59.737 as we were doing the victimology, 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:01.488 continuing to study Melvin Vernell. 00:15:01.530 --> 00:15:03.699 We also want to show our respects to the family. 00:15:05.451 --> 00:15:07.995 There was a lot of publicity on social media 00:15:07.995 --> 00:15:09.705 when the family announced that they were going to do 00:15:09.747 --> 00:15:11.332 the burial in Baton Rouge. 00:15:11.415 --> 00:15:13.292 You had people from all over the United States of America, 00:15:13.334 --> 00:15:15.336 different groups saying, "We're gonna come. 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:16.795 We're gonna represent." 00:15:16.837 --> 00:15:18.380 A lot of folks in the hip-hop community 00:15:18.422 --> 00:15:21.133 responded, you know, expressing their condolences. 00:15:21.175 --> 00:15:26.764 The overall response was just that, wow, he was so young, 00:15:26.805 --> 00:15:29.391 and we hadn't heard everything that we were 00:15:29.433 --> 00:15:30.684 meant to hear from Lil Phat. 00:15:33.354 --> 00:15:35.898 But detectives learn that there seems to be 00:15:35.940 --> 00:15:38.859 one of Phat's fellow rappers from Baton Rouge 00:15:38.859 --> 00:15:42.905 that isn't so sorry that Lil Phat is gone. 00:15:42.947 --> 00:15:44.531 Lil Boosie had been convicted 00:15:44.531 --> 00:15:46.533 of gun and drug charges, 00:15:46.575 --> 00:15:48.869 and had an eight-year sentence to serve, 00:15:48.869 --> 00:15:51.205 so he was in Angola State Prison. 00:15:51.246 --> 00:15:53.165 Boosie was being called the Tupac of the south 00:15:53.207 --> 00:15:54.875 when he was coming up. 00:15:54.917 --> 00:15:57.795 When folks look to people like Boosie, 00:15:57.878 --> 00:16:00.214 they're looking for authentic street rap. 00:16:00.214 --> 00:16:02.466 I call it outlaw rap. It's, like, stick up rap. 00:16:02.508 --> 00:16:03.884 You know, lots of gun talk, 00:16:03.884 --> 00:16:05.552 but I think when folks think of Boosie, 00:16:05.594 --> 00:16:07.930 they think of somebody who's being, like, super authentic, 00:16:07.972 --> 00:16:10.975 who, like, is really reporting from the street. 00:16:11.892 --> 00:16:14.561 Lil Boosie came up through social media. 00:16:14.603 --> 00:16:18.232 We began noticing people were making comments online 00:16:18.232 --> 00:16:22.111 that Lil Boosie was frustrated with Melvin Vernell, 00:16:22.111 --> 00:16:22.444 that Lil Boosie was frustrated with Melvin Vernell, 00:16:22.486 --> 00:16:25.155 and they're out here doing shows and making money 00:16:25.197 --> 00:16:27.658 while he's stuck in prison where they should be giving 00:16:27.700 --> 00:16:29.159 some of that money back to his family, 00:16:29.201 --> 00:16:31.412 helping them out while he's in jail. 00:16:31.453 --> 00:16:34.039 So I know there were some rumors about 00:16:34.081 --> 00:16:35.416 there being some disagreements 00:16:35.457 --> 00:16:37.918 between Lil Phat and Boosie over the residuals. 00:16:37.918 --> 00:16:40.337 So we're beginning to think you got Lil Boosie 00:16:40.421 --> 00:16:43.590 who was accused of committing multiple murders. 00:16:44.925 --> 00:16:46.927 I felt like he was wanting to make a point, 00:16:47.011 --> 00:16:48.178 trying to make a name for himself. 00:16:49.930 --> 00:16:51.348 We looked into the Lil Boosie angle 00:16:51.432 --> 00:16:53.308 with the Baton Rouge Police Department 00:16:53.350 --> 00:16:55.853 and investigators from the district attorney's office. 00:16:55.894 --> 00:16:58.564 They have a system down there where they have investigators 00:16:58.605 --> 00:17:00.274 that listen to all of the jail phone calls 00:17:00.357 --> 00:17:02.109 going in and out, 00:17:02.151 --> 00:17:05.988 and the morning after the murder, 00:17:06.030 --> 00:17:07.781 a young lady had called Lil Boosie and said, 00:17:07.823 --> 00:17:09.992 "Hey, I got some bad news. Did you hear about Lil Phat?" 00:17:10.034 --> 00:17:11.618 And he said, "No, what's up?" 00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:13.454 And she goes, "He was gunned down last night," 00:17:13.495 --> 00:17:15.289 and you can hear Lil Boosie start screaming 00:17:15.372 --> 00:17:17.082 and yelling and slamming the phone down yelling, 00:17:17.124 --> 00:17:19.251 "No, no, no." He was very upset. 00:17:19.293 --> 00:17:21.503 You could tell he was caught off guard by it. 00:17:21.545 --> 00:17:24.214 We then went through all of Lil Boosie's phone calls. 00:17:24.256 --> 00:17:26.300 There was absolutely no connection whatsoever. 00:17:26.300 --> 00:17:28.886 Literally we came out pretty much ruling out 00:17:28.969 --> 00:17:31.305 anything that had happened in Baton Rouge. 00:17:31.388 --> 00:17:33.682 It's frustrating, but when you work a murder, 00:17:33.766 --> 00:17:35.142 you have to follow the evidence. 00:17:35.184 --> 00:17:36.727 You can't pick and choose where you go. 00:17:36.769 --> 00:17:38.228 You follow Lady Evidence. 00:17:38.270 --> 00:17:39.605 Wherever she takes you is wherever you go. 00:17:39.646 --> 00:17:41.273 This tip came in. We investigated it. 00:17:41.315 --> 00:17:43.233 We cleared it, and we're moving on. 00:17:43.275 --> 00:17:45.360 It is frustrating though. 00:17:48.363 --> 00:17:51.742 So I went back home, 00:17:51.825 --> 00:17:53.911 and then it got really odd 00:17:53.952 --> 00:17:55.996 because the next day, a special agent 00:17:56.038 --> 00:17:57.664 with FBI Atlanta wanted to talk to me 00:17:57.664 --> 00:18:00.250 and possibly had information on our murder, 00:18:00.292 --> 00:18:02.836 and that this stemmed from some drugs 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:04.046 that had been stolen. 00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:08.008 That's now lending a lot of credence to that idea 00:18:08.050 --> 00:18:09.676 that this was a hit. 00:18:20.229 --> 00:18:22.106 In June of 2012, 00:18:22.189 --> 00:18:25.109 detectives work frantically to solve the case 00:18:25.192 --> 00:18:28.487 of Melvin Vernell III and obtain justice 00:18:28.529 --> 00:18:31.365 for his devastated young widow and children. 00:18:36.537 --> 00:18:39.373 What stood out to me was when the nurse-- 00:18:39.414 --> 00:18:43.460 she said that she tried her best to save him, 00:18:43.544 --> 00:18:46.463 and she still could smell his cologne. 00:18:46.547 --> 00:18:49.675 Like, that was, like, the one thing 00:18:49.716 --> 00:18:51.301 that stood out to me because she said 00:18:51.343 --> 00:18:53.637 that he was trying so hard, 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:56.181 but it's just like he couldn't make it. 00:18:57.891 --> 00:19:00.435 I just still remember that all the time. 00:19:03.772 --> 00:19:06.066 Investigators have a unique trail 00:19:06.066 --> 00:19:07.860 of evidence to follow. 00:19:07.901 --> 00:19:11.864 None so far has led to a name of Melvin's killer. 00:19:11.905 --> 00:19:14.575 As detectives continue to chase every lead, 00:19:14.658 --> 00:19:18.871 they get a call from the Atlanta office of the FBI. 00:19:20.497 --> 00:19:22.249 The FBI agent calls me in and discloses 00:19:22.291 --> 00:19:24.126 that he had a confidential informant 00:19:24.168 --> 00:19:26.003 that had named specific suspects 00:19:26.044 --> 00:19:27.588 pertaining to our murder. 00:19:27.671 --> 00:19:29.590 The agent told me that the source 00:19:29.673 --> 00:19:30.841 was a registered informant, 00:19:30.883 --> 00:19:33.385 had been deemed reliable and credible, 00:19:33.427 --> 00:19:36.972 Specifically that he was very good and had provided them 00:19:37.014 --> 00:19:38.765 with some really good information in the past. 00:19:38.849 --> 00:19:41.935 Detectives zero in on the two suspects 00:19:41.977 --> 00:19:45.606 given to them by the FBI's informant. 00:19:45.606 --> 00:19:47.608 The suspects were 00:19:47.608 --> 00:19:50.110 Gary Bradford AKA Eldorado Red 00:19:50.110 --> 00:19:52.613 and Decensae White AKA Griz. 00:19:52.654 --> 00:19:55.532 We began to research, and we learned very quickly 00:19:55.616 --> 00:19:57.618 that Eldorado Red is part of 00:19:57.618 --> 00:20:00.662 the Bang Gett Money Gang in Montgomery, Alabama. 00:20:00.704 --> 00:20:03.957 Very violent, very, very involved in guns 00:20:04.041 --> 00:20:06.627 and distribution of marijuana and cocaine. 00:20:06.668 --> 00:20:10.088 Eldorado Red is the shot caller 00:20:10.130 --> 00:20:12.507 or what they call the OG 00:20:12.549 --> 00:20:15.802 of the criminal street gang known as BGM. 00:20:17.429 --> 00:20:20.349 He has a whole bunch of foot soldiers. 00:20:20.432 --> 00:20:23.602 Eldorado Red's significant criminal history 00:20:23.644 --> 00:20:26.939 puts him atop investigators' suspect list, 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:31.151 but Decensae White AKA Griz seems out of place 00:20:31.193 --> 00:20:34.488 in the middle of a murder investigation. 00:20:34.488 --> 00:20:37.908 Griz, who is Decensae White, is from California. 00:20:37.950 --> 00:20:40.786 He went to a private Catholic school, 00:20:40.827 --> 00:20:42.537 had a basketball scholarship. 00:20:42.621 --> 00:20:44.748 He played basketball under Bobby Knight. 00:20:44.790 --> 00:20:46.375 He wants to move to Atlanta 00:20:46.458 --> 00:20:48.168 and try to get into the rap scene, 00:20:48.168 --> 00:20:50.504 so he comes to Atlanta, 00:20:50.587 --> 00:20:52.130 and the marijuana around the areas, 00:20:52.172 --> 00:20:54.633 it's not good marijuana. It's too expensive. 00:20:54.675 --> 00:20:57.427 He's connected to growers in California, 00:20:57.469 --> 00:21:00.013 so he starts to run a very large operation, 00:21:00.097 --> 00:21:02.599 and he will ultimately meet Gary Bradford, 00:21:02.683 --> 00:21:05.394 Eldorado Red, when those two begin to network, 00:21:05.435 --> 00:21:07.271 and, basically, at the end of the day, 00:21:07.312 --> 00:21:10.190 Decensae White is supplying the entire city of Montgomery 00:21:10.274 --> 00:21:11.108 with their marijuana, and the two of them are making 00:21:11.108 --> 00:21:13.318 Based on the new information, 00:21:13.360 --> 00:21:16.029 investigators submit warrants for phone records 00:21:16.071 --> 00:21:19.741 for Gary Bradford and Decensae White. 00:21:19.783 --> 00:21:21.535 What we're looking for is where they are the day 00:21:21.576 --> 00:21:23.120 before the murder, during the murder, 00:21:23.161 --> 00:21:24.579 things of that nature. 00:21:24.621 --> 00:21:26.581 Once the records came in, we saw 00:21:26.581 --> 00:21:29.167 where they traveled down into the area 00:21:29.209 --> 00:21:32.212 of Northside Hospital an hour or two before the murder, 00:21:32.254 --> 00:21:34.339 and they're together. 00:21:34.381 --> 00:21:37.259 They're there a couple hours before, but they're there. 00:21:37.301 --> 00:21:40.929 So this all began to start tying some loose ends together, 00:21:41.013 --> 00:21:43.849 but it still didn't paint the big picture. 00:21:43.890 --> 00:21:47.060 Eldorado Red and Decensae "Griz" White 00:21:47.102 --> 00:21:49.771 are now lead aspects in the murder, 00:21:49.771 --> 00:21:52.274 but detectives now need to determine 00:21:52.316 --> 00:21:54.568 why a California basketball star 00:21:54.609 --> 00:21:56.695 and known Alabama drug dealer 00:21:56.737 --> 00:22:00.282 would want a rapper from Atlanta dead. 00:22:00.365 --> 00:22:02.701 It was probably a few weeks in. 00:22:02.743 --> 00:22:05.704 The 911 center had received a phone call 00:22:05.746 --> 00:22:08.707 from a confidential informant. 00:22:31.646 --> 00:22:33.190 He specifically named Eldorado Red 00:22:33.231 --> 00:22:36.276 and Maurice Conner to be involved in the shooting. 00:22:36.318 --> 00:22:40.113 Gary "Eldorado Red" Bradford is already 00:22:40.155 --> 00:22:42.491 on investigators' list of suspects, 00:22:42.491 --> 00:22:47.079 but Maurice Conner is a new name for detectives. 00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:48.997 We began to research Maurice Conner 00:22:49.081 --> 00:22:50.707 and learned that he was part 00:22:50.791 --> 00:22:54.961 of the Bang Gett Money Gang under Eldorado Red. 00:22:55.003 --> 00:22:56.338 We're researching Maurice, and we see 00:22:56.380 --> 00:22:58.006 where he received a speeding ticket 00:22:58.090 --> 00:23:02.094 June 6th, 2012 in the afternoon on I-85, 00:23:02.177 --> 00:23:04.638 close to the Georgia border. 00:23:04.679 --> 00:23:07.015 This is the day before the murder. 00:23:07.015 --> 00:23:09.810 I called the trooper who pulled him over for speeding. 00:23:09.851 --> 00:23:12.687 He told me that there was two occupants in the vehicle. 00:23:12.729 --> 00:23:14.898 Maurice Conner is driving. 00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:17.859 The passenger is Deandre Washington. 00:23:17.901 --> 00:23:21.113 Interestingly enough, when they were stopped, 00:23:21.196 --> 00:23:23.115 they were asked where they were going. 00:23:23.198 --> 00:23:26.243 They both said that they were traveling to Atlanta 00:23:26.326 --> 00:23:27.911 to a funeral. 00:23:34.501 --> 00:23:36.420 We had good witnesses at the hospital 00:23:36.461 --> 00:23:39.005 that gave good descriptions of one suspect being tall 00:23:39.047 --> 00:23:41.800 and one being short, and the short suspect 00:23:41.883 --> 00:23:45.929 was approximately 5'3", 5'4" with a short afro. 00:23:46.012 --> 00:23:50.600 The passenger is Deandre Washington 00:23:50.642 --> 00:23:52.352 who's 5'4". 00:23:53.979 --> 00:23:56.565 We're now following the shooters. 00:23:56.606 --> 00:23:57.899 They're coming in town. 00:24:04.156 --> 00:24:05.907 Maurice Conner's phone records 00:24:05.991 --> 00:24:07.909 places him at the scene of the murder. 00:24:07.909 --> 00:24:09.828 I was shocked to learn and find out 00:24:09.870 --> 00:24:12.414 that this guy was the CI for the FBI. 00:24:12.497 --> 00:24:14.291 He makes a phone call 00:24:14.374 --> 00:24:16.835 38 seconds after 911 was called, 00:24:16.877 --> 00:24:20.005 and he is inside the Northside Hospital. 00:24:20.088 --> 00:24:22.048 He's inside the complex. 00:24:31.892 --> 00:24:34.436 Investigators are swiftly moving in 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:36.396 on multiple emerging suspects 00:24:36.438 --> 00:24:40.066 in the killing of Melvin "Lil Phat" Vernell III 00:24:40.108 --> 00:24:42.944 when one man, Deandre Washington, 00:24:42.944 --> 00:24:45.030 comes to the forefront. 00:24:45.071 --> 00:24:47.908 Detectives follow up on a traffic stop 00:24:47.949 --> 00:24:50.285 that took place the day before the murder 00:24:50.327 --> 00:24:52.954 just over the border in Alabama. 00:24:55.290 --> 00:24:58.126 Because of the traffic stop, we learned that the passenger 00:24:58.168 --> 00:25:01.546 is Deandre Washington, who's 5'4" 00:25:01.630 --> 00:25:03.632 and has a medium size afro. 00:25:03.673 --> 00:25:06.551 Washington matches the exact description 00:25:06.635 --> 00:25:08.303 from witnesses at the scene, 00:25:08.345 --> 00:25:10.680 and phone records help pin down 00:25:10.722 --> 00:25:13.183 his and associate Maurice Conner's whereabouts 00:25:13.225 --> 00:25:16.311 during the brutal execution. 00:25:16.311 --> 00:25:18.939 We have them being in Atlanta at the time of the crime. 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:22.234 We have phone records that track the movements 00:25:22.317 --> 00:25:24.653 of both Washington and Conner 00:25:24.736 --> 00:25:29.366 traveling to Northside Hospital at the time of the crime. 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:32.452 Maurice Conner's phone records places him 00:25:32.494 --> 00:25:33.912 at the scene of the murder. 00:25:33.954 --> 00:25:35.455 He makes a phone call, I believe, 00:25:35.497 --> 00:25:38.083 38 seconds after 911 was called, 00:25:38.166 --> 00:25:40.252 and he is inside the Northside Hospital. 00:25:41.878 --> 00:25:43.338 He's inside the complex. 00:25:45.006 --> 00:25:46.841 Investigators tighten their grip 00:25:46.883 --> 00:25:48.843 on the four main suspects, 00:25:48.843 --> 00:25:51.429 but there remains a burning question 00:25:51.471 --> 00:25:53.682 left to be answered. 00:25:53.682 --> 00:25:55.183 It's not adding up. 00:25:55.225 --> 00:25:57.435 How did they know he was at the hospital? 00:25:57.477 --> 00:25:59.396 His fiancée, Alnese Frazier, 00:25:59.437 --> 00:26:02.023 she told us Melvin Vernell-- he had been at the-- 00:26:02.023 --> 00:26:04.609 with the realtor all day looking at houses. 00:26:04.693 --> 00:26:06.861 Then he goes to Popeyes, then he goes to the hospital. 00:26:06.861 --> 00:26:08.572 I mean, he'd been traveling all day. 00:26:08.613 --> 00:26:10.323 How did they know he was there? 00:26:11.992 --> 00:26:13.743 At this point, the investigation 00:26:13.785 --> 00:26:15.036 kind of hits a crossroads. 00:26:15.120 --> 00:26:17.205 We had an FBI agent call 00:26:17.289 --> 00:26:20.417 and informed me their registered informant, 00:26:20.458 --> 00:26:23.211 the person who specifically gave us 00:26:23.211 --> 00:26:26.256 the name of Decensae White and Gary Bradford, 00:26:26.298 --> 00:26:27.549 was Mani Chulpayev. 00:26:31.553 --> 00:26:33.972 I was shocked to learn and find out that this guy 00:26:34.014 --> 00:26:37.517 was the CI for the FBI. I couldn't believe it. 00:26:38.893 --> 00:26:40.979 Investigators learn that Mani 00:26:41.021 --> 00:26:42.897 has been ratting out criminals in his orbit 00:26:42.939 --> 00:26:45.567 to the FBI for years. 00:26:45.567 --> 00:26:48.987 Mani Chulpayev kept the books for the Russian mob, 00:26:49.029 --> 00:26:53.825 and, ultimately, he turned government's evidence 00:26:53.867 --> 00:26:55.910 and became an FBI informant. 00:26:55.952 --> 00:26:58.079 I wanted to interview Mani, but once I realized 00:26:58.163 --> 00:26:59.914 he was the confidential informant 00:26:59.914 --> 00:27:01.791 that the FBI was referring to, 00:27:01.833 --> 00:27:04.586 and the agent made it clear that he was hands off, 00:27:04.628 --> 00:27:06.087 you couldn't talk to him. 00:27:06.087 --> 00:27:09.549 He was very, very protective. Very protective of Mani. 00:27:11.426 --> 00:27:13.094 While Mani safeguards himself 00:27:13.094 --> 00:27:16.222 behind the FBI, Lil Phat's case 00:27:16.264 --> 00:27:18.642 continues to resonate throughout the grieving 00:27:18.683 --> 00:27:20.602 Atlanta hip-hop community, 00:27:20.644 --> 00:27:24.522 causing more leads to pour into the police. 00:27:24.564 --> 00:27:27.067 I receive a phone call from a detective in Montgomery 00:27:27.108 --> 00:27:28.443 who says, "We have a gentleman 00:27:28.485 --> 00:27:30.445 "who has very intimate information 00:27:30.487 --> 00:27:32.947 about your murder," and the shooter confessed 00:27:32.989 --> 00:27:34.949 elements of the crime to him. 00:27:34.991 --> 00:27:37.952 I said, "Okay, sure. Put me on speaker phone." 00:27:37.994 --> 00:27:40.038 And I asked, "What do you know?" 00:27:40.080 --> 00:27:43.667 He said Eldorado Red recruited Maurice Conner 00:27:43.750 --> 00:27:46.461 and Deandre Washington to kill Melvin Vernell. 00:27:46.461 --> 00:27:48.213 I say, "Okay. Where'd they kill him?" 00:27:48.296 --> 00:27:49.839 "Northside Hospital in the parking deck 00:27:49.881 --> 00:27:51.216 at the Women's Center." 00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:54.594 "Okay. What'd they shoot him with?" 00:27:54.636 --> 00:27:56.471 "A Glock 357 SIG." 00:27:59.140 --> 00:28:02.310 We never released that. We'd never released that. 00:28:02.394 --> 00:28:04.521 And at that time I said, "You know what? 00:28:04.562 --> 00:28:07.023 "I'm not having this conversation over the phone. 00:28:07.107 --> 00:28:08.858 See you in three hours." 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:10.902 We drove out to Montgomery, 00:28:10.985 --> 00:28:13.446 and we interviewed that gentleman for four hours. 00:28:13.488 --> 00:28:15.156 He told me that Deandre Washington 00:28:15.156 --> 00:28:17.033 confessed the entire murder to him. 00:28:17.117 --> 00:28:18.952 Deandre explained to him how he shot him, 00:28:18.993 --> 00:28:21.162 how they found him, and everything. 00:28:21.246 --> 00:28:23.998 Not only does this new information pinpoint 00:28:24.040 --> 00:28:26.543 the shooter as Deandre Washington, 00:28:26.584 --> 00:28:29.546 the informant helps Detective Williams place 00:28:29.587 --> 00:28:32.173 that last piece of the puzzle. 00:28:32.173 --> 00:28:34.175 I then asked the informant, 00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:35.802 "How did they know he was there?" 00:28:37.679 --> 00:28:39.764 He said, "Oh, yeah, they had GPS trackers, 00:28:39.806 --> 00:28:41.015 "and, you know, some Russian guy 00:28:41.057 --> 00:28:42.684 "that was renting the cars for 'em, 00:28:42.684 --> 00:28:44.853 "they tracked him--yeah, they tracked him the night before, 00:28:44.853 --> 00:28:47.564 and they couldn't get him." The Russian was helping them. 00:28:47.647 --> 00:28:52.193 The Russian is the FBI's informant 00:28:52.235 --> 00:28:54.696 and car rental entrepreneur Mani Chulpayev. 00:28:54.779 --> 00:28:56.740 Mani put trackers 00:28:56.823 --> 00:28:59.868 in his vehicles, and so if someone rented a vehicle 00:28:59.868 --> 00:29:01.536 and didn't make the payment, 00:29:01.536 --> 00:29:03.872 Mani would be able to track the vehicle and get it back. 00:29:05.290 --> 00:29:09.169 A task force is formed to go up to the impound lot 00:29:09.210 --> 00:29:13.173 and to seize the GPS trackers from the car. 00:29:13.214 --> 00:29:16.176 So we go up to this beautiful $100,000 Audi, 00:29:16.217 --> 00:29:18.553 and we get the GPS trackers out, 00:29:18.595 --> 00:29:21.055 and they're from a company called IMETRIK. 00:29:21.055 --> 00:29:23.057 We called IMETRIK, and they told us, 00:29:23.099 --> 00:29:24.601 "If you'll give us the serial numbers 00:29:24.642 --> 00:29:25.810 "for the trackers, 00:29:25.852 --> 00:29:27.312 "then we can give you the username, 00:29:27.353 --> 00:29:28.897 "the account, and what vehicles they have, 00:29:28.938 --> 00:29:31.775 and they'll be able to show you the command to locate." 00:29:31.816 --> 00:29:35.653 Investigators are given access to Mani's database 00:29:35.695 --> 00:29:40.074 and can see every time someone tries to locate Melvin's car. 00:29:40.116 --> 00:29:42.202 So when you go into the IMETRIK website 00:29:42.243 --> 00:29:43.578 and you go to Mani's account, 00:29:43.578 --> 00:29:46.289 you get a list of every vehicle he's got, 00:29:46.331 --> 00:29:48.416 and you literally go up and there's a little icon 00:29:48.458 --> 00:29:51.336 that says CML, command to locate. 00:29:51.419 --> 00:29:53.463 You click it, and it gives you latitude and longitude 00:29:53.505 --> 00:29:54.798 of where the vehicle is. 00:29:54.881 --> 00:29:58.343 This really gets freaky the day of the murder. 00:29:58.426 --> 00:30:00.386 You can see they're doing a command 00:30:00.428 --> 00:30:02.305 to locate every 20 or 30 minutes. 00:30:02.347 --> 00:30:05.433 Somebody was literally hunting Melvin Vernell down like a dog. 00:30:06.184 --> 00:30:08.520 You know, in order to prosecute the devil, 00:30:08.603 --> 00:30:10.188 you got to go to hell to get your witnesses. 00:30:10.230 --> 00:30:12.607 A gentleman approaches him with a Glock 00:30:12.649 --> 00:30:15.318 with an extended magazine and says, 00:30:15.360 --> 00:30:16.945 "Give me the package in the back." 00:30:18.446 --> 00:30:22.283 There is this expectation to uphold this very image 00:30:22.367 --> 00:30:24.702 even if it gets them in trouble. 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:35.672 In their investigation 00:30:35.713 --> 00:30:37.215 into the brutal murder of rap artist 00:30:37.298 --> 00:30:39.092 Melvin Vernell III, 00:30:39.092 --> 00:30:41.302 Sandy Springs detectives have followed leads 00:30:41.386 --> 00:30:42.887 and collected evidence, 00:30:42.929 --> 00:30:47.183 narrowing their focus to a group of four men. 00:30:47.225 --> 00:30:50.645 As cell phone data and GPS locator evidence 00:30:50.687 --> 00:30:54.148 begin to expose how this crime was committed, 00:30:54.190 --> 00:30:55.817 the question of why 00:30:55.817 --> 00:30:58.528 continues to elude investigators. 00:30:58.570 --> 00:31:00.405 You know, in order to prosecute the devil, 00:31:00.488 --> 00:31:03.241 you got to go to hell to get your witnesses, right? 00:31:03.283 --> 00:31:05.994 And so in this case, 00:31:05.994 --> 00:31:07.829 we needed someone 00:31:07.912 --> 00:31:10.957 to provide inside information 00:31:10.999 --> 00:31:15.253 that would give a step by step roadmap 00:31:15.295 --> 00:31:18.631 as to not just why it happened, but how it happened. 00:31:18.673 --> 00:31:20.925 Investigators know their best chance 00:31:20.967 --> 00:31:23.970 is to focus on the weak link in the group. 00:31:24.012 --> 00:31:27.640 I called Decensae White in Redwood, California. 00:31:27.682 --> 00:31:31.436 And I said, "Hey, Griz." He said, "Yes, sir?" 00:31:31.477 --> 00:31:32.812 I said, "I'm Detective JT Williams, 00:31:32.854 --> 00:31:34.355 Sandy Springs Police. How are you?" 00:31:34.439 --> 00:31:36.190 I said, "I'd love to fly out there tonight. 00:31:36.232 --> 00:31:37.734 "I can be out there in seven, eight hours, 00:31:37.775 --> 00:31:39.903 sit down, and get your side of the story." 00:31:39.944 --> 00:31:41.696 He goes, "Sandy Springs?" I say, "Yeah. 00:31:41.779 --> 00:31:43.364 You know where Northside Hospital is?" 00:31:43.448 --> 00:31:46.367 To which he stated he had a lawyer and didn't wanna talk. 00:31:46.367 --> 00:31:48.077 I said, "Okay," and I said, 00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:49.621 "Just one thing, don't say anything, 00:31:49.662 --> 00:31:52.749 but just listen. Mani threw you under the bus." 00:31:54.459 --> 00:31:57.295 "He's told us everything, so I'll see you next month." 00:31:58.838 --> 00:32:00.882 Police wait to see-- 00:32:00.965 --> 00:32:02.884 will calling Decensae White's bluff 00:32:02.884 --> 00:32:04.802 turn into the confession 00:32:04.886 --> 00:32:07.597 detectives so desperately hope for? 00:32:07.639 --> 00:32:09.015 Decensae White's lawyer ends up calling 00:32:09.057 --> 00:32:10.642 the district attorney's office, 00:32:10.725 --> 00:32:12.185 and he says they wanna cut a deal. 00:32:14.354 --> 00:32:16.606 We met on a Saturday. 00:32:16.648 --> 00:32:18.191 Decensae White had hired Bruce Harvey, 00:32:18.232 --> 00:32:19.484 a very prominent lawyer. 00:32:19.567 --> 00:32:21.319 Bruce Harvey actually approached me 00:32:21.361 --> 00:32:22.862 in front of the courthouse. 00:32:22.904 --> 00:32:24.948 He said, "Listen, I just wanna know 00:32:24.989 --> 00:32:27.075 why Calvin Johnson is not on the indictment." 00:32:28.785 --> 00:32:30.745 Calvin's name had been brought up before, 00:32:30.787 --> 00:32:32.497 and as an associate who had been speaking 00:32:32.538 --> 00:32:34.207 with Red and Griz. 00:32:34.248 --> 00:32:35.583 Calvin was living in the Metro Atlanta area 00:32:35.667 --> 00:32:37.126 at the time. 00:32:37.168 --> 00:32:39.879 His full-time job was basically to traffic marijuana 00:32:39.921 --> 00:32:41.422 from Atlanta to Montgomery. 00:32:41.506 --> 00:32:43.383 The couriers have nothing to do with the money. 00:32:43.424 --> 00:32:46.094 Just simple bring a package, drop it off, and come back. 00:32:47.428 --> 00:32:48.930 Within the next few days, 00:32:48.972 --> 00:32:50.431 we dig through the phone records, 00:32:50.431 --> 00:32:52.725 and we actually now see Calvin Johnson, 00:32:52.767 --> 00:32:54.394 Decensae White, and Eldorado Red 00:32:54.435 --> 00:32:55.603 are all together. 00:32:55.645 --> 00:32:58.272 Where one phone is, the other phone is. 00:32:59.899 --> 00:33:01.526 We had done the homework, found him, 00:33:01.609 --> 00:33:04.779 and he was a basketball coach in the North Palo Alto area. 00:33:04.821 --> 00:33:07.031 He is served with a material witness subpoena 00:33:07.073 --> 00:33:08.783 and is flown back to Atlanta 00:33:08.825 --> 00:33:10.660 where he's offered a deal to testify. 00:33:12.954 --> 00:33:16.249 Calvin becomes important because he explained to us 00:33:16.290 --> 00:33:19.961 how he was robbed at a BP gas station. 00:33:19.961 --> 00:33:22.088 On that specific date, Calvin Johnson 00:33:22.130 --> 00:33:24.298 pulls up to the BP on Metropolitan Parkway, 00:33:24.340 --> 00:33:25.800 gets gas. 00:33:25.800 --> 00:33:29.387 He had five bricks of marijuana, 00:33:29.429 --> 00:33:32.932 and a gentleman approaches him with a Glock 00:33:32.974 --> 00:33:36.644 with an extended magazine and says, 00:33:36.728 --> 00:33:38.855 "Give me the package in the back." 00:33:38.896 --> 00:33:40.857 He says, "I reached around back, 00:33:40.898 --> 00:33:43.192 gave them the package." 00:33:43.234 --> 00:33:45.903 He said the suspect took off running. 00:33:45.945 --> 00:33:49.073 Calvin said he sees a tricked-out Cadillac, 00:33:49.157 --> 00:33:52.076 black in color, speed off. 00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:55.496 So Calvin calls Decensae White and says, "Hey, I messed up." 00:33:55.580 --> 00:33:59.500 And when they heard the Glock, the extended magazine, 00:33:59.500 --> 00:34:02.712 the black Cadillac, that was the current vehicle 00:34:02.754 --> 00:34:04.505 that Melvin Vernell was driving. 00:34:06.340 --> 00:34:07.967 They started putting two and two together, 00:34:08.009 --> 00:34:10.011 and realized it was Melvin Vernell 00:34:10.094 --> 00:34:11.721 that had stolen the marijuana, 00:34:11.763 --> 00:34:12.847 and that they were gonna get him for it. 00:34:12.889 --> 00:34:14.015 They had to make a point. 00:34:14.098 --> 00:34:16.017 But why would Lil Phat 00:34:16.100 --> 00:34:18.519 risk the ire of Decensae White 00:34:18.561 --> 00:34:21.397 for ten pounds of marijuana? 00:34:22.190 --> 00:34:24.650 So based on the money that these guys 00:34:24.692 --> 00:34:26.194 could be making, it's really hard to say 00:34:26.194 --> 00:34:28.780 why Lil Phat would wanna do a robbery. 00:34:28.863 --> 00:34:32.575 There is this expectation 00:34:32.617 --> 00:34:34.452 to portray 00:34:34.494 --> 00:34:38.539 this real, lived-in street credibility. 00:34:38.539 --> 00:34:40.792 I think for a lot of these artists, 00:34:40.833 --> 00:34:44.921 there is this expectation to uphold this very image 00:34:44.962 --> 00:34:47.048 even if it gets them in trouble. 00:34:47.048 --> 00:34:49.092 I mean, he was a young, talented kid 00:34:49.133 --> 00:34:53.262 that had a promising rap career in front of him. 00:34:53.304 --> 00:34:57.767 He had a hit that was making some traction. 00:34:57.809 --> 00:35:00.436 Unfortunately, Lil Phat, 00:35:00.478 --> 00:35:03.106 he had one foot in and one foot out. 00:35:03.147 --> 00:35:05.566 He was leading two lives. 00:35:05.608 --> 00:35:07.777 Then he just stole drugs from the wrong person. 00:35:11.781 --> 00:35:15.409 As the four suspects' motives begin to crystallize, 00:35:15.451 --> 00:35:17.495 investigators are still puzzled 00:35:17.537 --> 00:35:19.789 by Mani Chulpayev's involvement. 00:35:19.831 --> 00:35:24.544 What does he have to gain by seeing Melvin Vernell dead? 00:35:24.585 --> 00:35:26.546 That's a 64 million dollar question, right? 00:35:26.587 --> 00:35:29.841 What was Mani's intent by providing this information 00:35:29.882 --> 00:35:31.968 to Griz and Eldorado Red? 00:35:31.968 --> 00:35:33.636 I mean, it's not like Mani was dealing drugs 00:35:33.678 --> 00:35:35.513 or moving any product, 00:35:35.555 --> 00:35:38.432 but there's no doubt that by allowing Red and Griz 00:35:38.474 --> 00:35:40.309 to track Lil Phat, 00:35:40.309 --> 00:35:44.939 that facilitated the murder of Lil Phat. 00:35:44.981 --> 00:35:47.150 Investigators struggle to understand 00:35:47.191 --> 00:35:50.194 why Mani would risk the FBI's protection 00:35:50.236 --> 00:35:52.196 as a government informant 00:35:52.238 --> 00:35:55.032 to help plot a rapper's assassination. 00:35:56.534 --> 00:36:00.663 Then they look back at his criminal history. 00:36:00.746 --> 00:36:03.207 We learned Mani had just 00:36:03.249 --> 00:36:05.877 gotten off federal probation 00:36:05.918 --> 00:36:10.006 for flipping all these cars, doing this car trickery, 00:36:10.047 --> 00:36:11.674 title fraud, VIN fraud, 00:36:11.674 --> 00:36:15.011 and was told if he gets caught doing the car thing again, 00:36:15.052 --> 00:36:17.555 he's going to jail. He's getting a lot of time. 00:36:17.597 --> 00:36:20.933 And then Melvin Vernell gets caught speeding. 00:36:21.017 --> 00:36:23.477 He's renting one of Mani's cars. 00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:25.062 They run the tag. 00:36:25.146 --> 00:36:27.648 The vehicle comes up stolen, so he goes to jail. 00:36:29.567 --> 00:36:32.653 Well, Melvin Vernell is not gonna plead guilty in court. 00:36:32.695 --> 00:36:34.780 Melvin's like, "This is a rental car. 00:36:34.864 --> 00:36:36.199 "I mean, why am I gonna be charged 00:36:36.282 --> 00:36:37.909 with possessing a stolen vehicle?" 00:36:37.950 --> 00:36:39.577 Mani knew that if Melvin Vernell 00:36:39.619 --> 00:36:42.622 didn't plead guilty, he was gonna expose his car ring. 00:36:42.663 --> 00:36:45.041 That was very concerning to Mani 00:36:45.082 --> 00:36:46.375 that he was gonna expose 00:36:46.417 --> 00:36:49.253 that he was back in the car business. 00:36:49.295 --> 00:36:53.382 So when Decensae White and Eldorado Red 00:36:53.382 --> 00:36:55.384 approached Mani and said, "Hey, we gotta find Melvin. 00:36:55.426 --> 00:36:57.178 You know, we gotta handle business." 00:36:57.220 --> 00:36:58.387 Mani was--he was excited. 00:36:58.429 --> 00:36:59.555 He was like, "Yeah, kill the kid. 00:36:59.597 --> 00:37:00.973 "I can't stand the little bastard. 00:37:01.015 --> 00:37:03.142 Let's get rid of this kid and move on." 00:37:10.608 --> 00:37:13.736 In Atlanta's quiet suburb of Sandy Springs, 00:37:13.736 --> 00:37:15.738 investigators have been unraveling 00:37:15.738 --> 00:37:17.448 the complicated murder case 00:37:17.490 --> 00:37:19.909 of a promising young musician, 00:37:19.909 --> 00:37:22.536 Melvin "Lil Phat" Vernell III. 00:37:22.578 --> 00:37:25.539 At the center, underworld auto hustler 00:37:25.581 --> 00:37:29.794 and FBI informant Mani Chulpayev. 00:37:29.835 --> 00:37:33.005 Detectives discover that Melvin's court date 00:37:33.089 --> 00:37:36.592 for the stolen vehicle charge was only days away 00:37:36.634 --> 00:37:39.512 when he was ruthlessly murdered. 00:37:42.932 --> 00:37:46.811 So now you have the murder, and a day after the murder, 00:37:46.852 --> 00:37:48.437 the district attorney's office gets a phone call 00:37:48.479 --> 00:37:51.649 from Mani Chulpayev's lawyer, "Hey, you can drop the case. 00:37:51.691 --> 00:37:53.234 "Melvin Vernell was murdered last night. 00:37:53.276 --> 00:37:55.444 "So, you know, you can close out the stolen car case. 00:37:55.486 --> 00:37:56.862 Thanks, Bye." Click. 00:37:56.904 --> 00:37:58.447 Very concerning. 00:37:58.489 --> 00:38:01.784 Mani's attorney has given police the final nail 00:38:01.784 --> 00:38:05.454 in his client's coffin by revealing a motive. 00:38:05.496 --> 00:38:09.250 No more Melvin, no more stolen car case. 00:38:09.292 --> 00:38:13.921 Chulpayev's own statements to the FBI also confirm 00:38:13.963 --> 00:38:15.631 he helped guide Melvin's killers 00:38:15.673 --> 00:38:17.174 to their prey. 00:38:18.175 --> 00:38:23.139 So in May, 2013, two months after the shooting, 00:38:23.180 --> 00:38:27.560 investigators are able to make their last arrest in the case. 00:38:27.601 --> 00:38:30.646 And so we charged Mani Chulpayev 00:38:30.688 --> 00:38:33.149 because Mani provided all the tracking information 00:38:33.149 --> 00:38:36.652 so that Griz and Red could track Lil Phat. 00:38:36.694 --> 00:38:38.904 With the pieces put together, 00:38:38.988 --> 00:38:41.324 it appears the murder of Lil Phat 00:38:41.407 --> 00:38:44.869 began when the rap star took his onstage personality 00:38:44.910 --> 00:38:48.706 too far by robbing a drug courier. 00:38:48.748 --> 00:38:52.752 Griz and Eldorado Red go to Mani to track him down. 00:38:52.793 --> 00:38:54.879 Mani's upset over the stolen car case. 00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:57.423 The perfect storm was starting to evolve. 00:38:57.465 --> 00:39:00.718 It becomes clear that the GPS tracking system 00:39:00.801 --> 00:39:04.722 supplied by Mani allowed Griz and Eldorado Red 00:39:04.805 --> 00:39:06.849 to track Melvin's movements 00:39:06.849 --> 00:39:10.269 and give them the opportunity to break in and pillage 00:39:10.311 --> 00:39:13.522 Melvin's house in search of the stolen marijuana. 00:39:14.690 --> 00:39:15.983 And the next day, 00:39:16.025 --> 00:39:18.361 they pick up the track in the afternoon, 00:39:18.402 --> 00:39:20.696 and ultimately, it leads them to Northside Hospital 00:39:20.738 --> 00:39:22.114 to the Women's Center. 00:39:23.574 --> 00:39:25.868 Eldorado Red calls Maurice Conner 00:39:25.951 --> 00:39:29.121 and calls Deandre Washington and said, "There's the car." 00:39:29.163 --> 00:39:32.041 We know that Melvin Vernell goes upstairs, 00:39:32.041 --> 00:39:33.959 hangs out with his fiancée. They eat. 00:39:34.001 --> 00:39:36.545 And he's leaving to go work on some music... 00:39:38.214 --> 00:39:41.884 When Maurice Conner and Deandre Washington run up, 00:39:41.926 --> 00:39:44.095 and Deandre puts six rounds through the back window. 00:39:48.391 --> 00:39:53.145 Two years after the murder in August of 2014, 00:39:53.229 --> 00:39:57.817 trials begin for three of the five suspects. 00:39:57.858 --> 00:40:00.569 Decensae White also known as Griz 00:40:00.569 --> 00:40:02.822 became a cooperator for the state 00:40:02.863 --> 00:40:05.241 and actually testified at the trial of this case. 00:40:05.282 --> 00:40:07.743 He got a eight-year sentence to probation 00:40:07.785 --> 00:40:09.537 in exchange for his 00:40:09.578 --> 00:40:12.081 truthful cooperation in this case. 00:40:12.081 --> 00:40:16.752 Decensae White identified Deandre Washington 00:40:16.752 --> 00:40:18.796 and Conner as the individuals 00:40:18.879 --> 00:40:21.757 who were at Northside Hospital 00:40:21.799 --> 00:40:25.594 and carried out the murder at Red's instruction. 00:40:25.636 --> 00:40:28.931 After an arduous three week trial, 00:40:28.931 --> 00:40:32.518 the jury finds Washington and Conner guilty of murder. 00:40:32.560 --> 00:40:34.770 Eldorado Red is convicted 00:40:34.812 --> 00:40:37.106 of conspiracy to commit murder. 00:40:37.106 --> 00:40:42.945 Mani Chulpayev shields himself behind a legal technicality. 00:40:42.987 --> 00:40:46.866 In this case, the court ruled that the communications 00:40:46.907 --> 00:40:50.453 between the FBI and Mani Chulpayev 00:40:50.536 --> 00:40:52.872 couldn't be used to prosecute him, 00:40:52.913 --> 00:40:56.876 so while we had a lot of evidence against Mani, 00:40:56.917 --> 00:40:58.627 we couldn't use that evidence, 00:40:58.627 --> 00:41:02.006 and ultimately his case got dismissed. 00:41:07.970 --> 00:41:11.432 This job is all about honor, integrity, 00:41:11.474 --> 00:41:12.892 doing the right thing. 00:41:12.933 --> 00:41:14.977 There has to be a voice for the victims. 00:41:15.936 --> 00:41:17.521 This is definitely the most complicated case 00:41:17.563 --> 00:41:19.648 I've ever worked. 00:41:19.690 --> 00:41:23.360 Every emotion that you could have 00:41:23.402 --> 00:41:24.862 was felt during this case. 00:41:24.945 --> 00:41:28.282 Ultimately, at the end, holding the family, 00:41:28.324 --> 00:41:30.034 sitting with them, holding hands 00:41:30.117 --> 00:41:32.161 when the sentences was coming out, 00:41:32.244 --> 00:41:34.288 I was just wiping away tears of joy 00:41:34.330 --> 00:41:37.583 that we were able to put these people behind bars 00:41:37.625 --> 00:41:39.001 where they belong. 00:41:43.172 --> 00:41:46.091 They took someone away from me. 00:41:46.133 --> 00:41:51.055 Melvin was, like--he was really sweet and gentle and caring. 00:41:51.096 --> 00:41:53.516 He was a really good father. 00:41:53.516 --> 00:41:55.851 Phat just wanted to just rap. 00:41:55.893 --> 00:41:57.811 Like, that's all he was trying to do. 00:41:57.853 --> 00:42:00.064 You know, keep doing for his mom 00:42:00.105 --> 00:42:02.358 and take care of his-- you know, his family. 00:42:02.399 --> 00:42:03.609 So I just miss him. 00:42:03.651 --> 00:42:06.070 I miss him around us, 00:42:06.111 --> 00:42:08.531 and I miss being a family with him.