According to The Shreveport Times, a Louisiana grand jury has indicted rapper Hurricane Chris — a.k.a. Christopher Jerron Dooley — on murder charges. The Caddo Parish Grand Jury accuses the 31-year-old rapper of second-degree murder and illegal possession of a stolen car. This ruling was one of five indictments the grand jury announced on Thursday.
Dooley is accused of murdering Danzeria Ferris, Jr. on Friday, June 19. Ferris was reportedly shot several times at a Texaco gas station in the city, early in the morning. Meanwhile, Dooley is also charged with possession of a stolen car — a 2016 Mercedes sedan — which investigators believe is connected with Ferris’ murder. Dooley claims that he shot Ferris in self-defense because Ferris was trying to initiate a fight over Dooley’s car. However, security footage of the murder may counter this defense.
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“Investigators were able to secure video footage of the incident that detectives believe showed that Dooley did not act in self-defense,” reads a press release from the police. Authorities added that the car in question was registered to a different person, far away in Texas. Dooley was arrested shortly after the shooting back in June.
Dooley is best-known to the world as Hurricane Chris for his 2007 hit song “A Bay Bay.” At the time, the song skyrocketed to the top 10 of Billboard‘s Hot 100, but Dooley never had a follow up reach the same heights. He stopped releasing music altogether in 2015.
“A Bay Bay” was the lead single for Dooley’s major-label debut album, 51/50 Ratchet. The follow-single was called “The Hand Clap,” which had some success, benefiting from the previous record. Remixes of “A Bay Bay” also performed relatively well in the time that followed.
Dooley’s album debuted at number 24 on the U.S. Billboard 200, and it sold 60,000 copies in its first week. Things slowed down from there, with Dooley releasing his next single a year and a half later. It was titled “Halle Berry (She’s Fine),” and it preceded the album Unleashed. Released in December of that year, Unleashed would be his last major label release.
It is still unclear whether Dooley was dropped by his label, Polo Grounds and J Records, of if he left of his own accord. Either way, Dooley continued to release mixtapes on his own, but his last one came out in 2015. So far, there is no word on when Dooley is due back in court.
