A Dallas rapper who bragged about killing rival gang members in rap music videos was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn told rapper “Na Na” the evidence against him came out of his own mouth.
The rapper, whose real name is Nykees Earl Campbell, ranted about murdering rival gang members in music videos uploaded to Facebook.com, Worldstar Hip Hop, and other video streaming sites.
Prosecutors matched his words with shoutouts that occurred on the streets of Dallas.
In one video, Campbell, 20, described shooting a gang member eight times as he slept in bed — a murder that remains unsolved.
Campbell was not arrested for that murder, but he and his fellow YNB gang members are suspects in several murders, homicide detective Eric Barnes testified in court.
Innocent bystanders have been shot, including a 6-year-old girl, as gang members sprayed bullets during shootouts. They then take to Instagram or Twitter to brag about their crimes.
Campbell’s case reflects a growing trend in law enforcement, as investigators take to social media to match up Tweets or video clips with unsolved crimes in their cities.
Campbell, who was arrested in November, was convicted on gun possession and drug charges. He has no criminal history.
Judge Lynn ignored the minimum sentencing guidelines and granted the prosecutor’s request for 12 years in prison. The prosecutor played Campbell’s violent rap videos in open court.
The judge said she rarely grants requests above the sentencing guidelines. But she told Campbell the evidence against him “came out of your mouth.”
“You’re bragging about shooting a person,” Lynn said. “It’s violence times 10 at every phase.”
Dallas police noted that, after Campbell was arrested in November, the violent gang activities in Dallas stopped. But Campbell’s lawyer, Dianne Jones McVay, is not convinced her client is behind all the unsolved gang murders in Dallas.
“My client is guilty of rapping,” she said. “They can’t prove their murders, but they want to blame my client for all of them.”
