Fake Armed Robbery, Real Arrests for New Orleans Rapper & Crew

N’awlins rapper Danny Rogers, or better known as, “Lil Dee God’s Gift,” and his associates, found themselves in a bit of trouble on Sunday evening. The self-described ‘positive rapper’ is known for shooting his music videos “guerilla style” throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area for YouTube consumption. Swept up in the wave of creativity, the hip hop counterparts made a series of decision that not only lead to their arrests, but almost cost them their lives.

While shooting the music video at the Ames Express convenient store, Roger’s and company got the idea to carry out a mock robbery, using real unloaded guns. Naturally when a passerby mistook the theatrics for a bona fide armed robbery, the police were summoned.

Lil Dee recounts,

“We was in there shooting, getting our shots and everything in the middle of the scene and police just ran in… A cop ran in with his gun drawn and after that, backup just followed.”

That’s when Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputies stormed the parking lot, and arrested the crew. Rogers, Chance Gomez, Yonael Santana, Timothy Kelly and Nidal Jamhour were detained for Criminal Mischief. Raassan Holmes, Frank Cheffen and Terrell Hogan face charges of Illegal Carrying of a Concealed Weapon along with Criminal Mischief.

“This is not smart,” Sheriff Newell Normand said. “Had they had the guns out and our officers come upon them, the likelihood is we would have multiple people dead.” The sherriff admitted that the men had no ill-intentions, and that the robbery scene of the video was meant to be an example of a ‘bad choice’ worthy of avoiding. Ironic…

Oddly enough, the whole guns blazing debacle could’ve been avoided if only Rogers and co. had remembered to secure a permit and alerted the proper authorities of their armed and unloaded plans. To their defense, the decision to stage the theft scene was a spur of the moment one, but one trigger-happy cop could’ve put their dreams and ambition to rest – permanently. Perhaps they should count themselves lucky to have walked away unharmed, and with a fair share of free publicity.