DA cites song ‘McLovin’ in Richmond murder case against rapper TearItOff Greezy. But do lyrics match up?

MARTINEZ — Weeks after a famous Bay Area rapper was arrested on murder charges, prosecutors in Contra Costa have publicly released details from the investigation into the 2021 killing, presenting a circumstantial case of digital evidence, gang motives, and lyrical content.

The hearing’s end result was bad news for 26-year-old Rene Goldie Fiapoto, aka TearItOff Greezy, who was held to answer on murder and conspiracy charges. But at the April 27 preliminary hearing, prosecutors didn’t come to court with a smoking gun; the District Attorney’s case appears to be based on pieces that could establish Fiapoto as one of three men shot shot and killed 21-year-old Derrick McDougal at a Richmond gas station.

Detectives from Richmond and San Francisco testified that Fiapoto’s DNA was found inside a stolen Jeep that was used by McDougal’s killers, but had also been potentially used by several others. Messages from Fiapoto’s Instagram account suggested he knew more about McDougal’s killing than had been publicly released by police, and a woman later came forward and told authorities she sold the Jeep to Fiapoto’s girlfriend’s sister, after stealing it from a rental service, according to court records.

Then there’s the sond, “McLovin,” released by Fiapoto and fellow rapper Toriano Troyonne Carpenter, aka Dex Krueger, two months after McDougal was killed. In his verse, Fiapoto refers to someone being shot 30 times, which prosecutors argued is just another demonstration that Fiapoto had firsthand knowledge of the homicide. In his verse, Carpenter talks about a person being tracked while recording themselves on Instagram Live and then killed, which again, police say that’s exactly what happened to McDougal.

But prosecutors say that police collected 37 shell casings from the scene, not 30. To explain the discrepancy, Deputy District Attorney Arshpal Singh argued that Fiapoto was simply showcasing his lyrical talent.

“Obviously, Mr. Fiapoto is a musical artist and he’s not going to rap in a way that someone’s talking. It has to appeal to an audience as well,” Singh argued at the hearing, later adding that it was “more of a credit to his lyrical talent” that Fiapoto was off by seven shots.

No one will ever be able to ask Carpenter exactly what he was referring to in his verse. On Sept. 6, 2022, he was shot and killed near Turk and Buchanan streets in San Francisco. The homicide remains unsolved, despite a $50,000 reward offered by police.

Fiapoto’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Tim Ahearn, argued that the prosecution basically had nothing on his client, saying police were relying on scant evidence and “grainy” surveillance footage showing a one of three shooters with a stocky build that could resemble Fiapoto, or any number of other people.

“I don’t see how a holding order can be based on this evidence. There really isn’t much else,” Ahearn said.

McDougal was shot and killed a little before 9 a.m. on March 16, 2021, at an Arco gas stationon the 2200 block of Barrett Avenue in Richmond. His killing went unsolved for years, but police quickly traced the Jeep used by the shooters to a nearby apartment, where an alleged member of the San Francisco-based Tre-4 gang resided, according to police testimony. Fiapoto — whose stage name allegedly references the gang — has been a part of Tre-4 for at least a decade, according to San Francisco police.

Police suggested the motive may have been McDougal’s affiliation with the Double Rock gang, which rivals Tre-4, or his alleged involvement in a 2016 shooting at June Jordan High School, where a Tre-4 member was wounded. Prosecutors say McDougal was on Instagram Live recording a video and that his three killers used visuals to figure out where he was and kill him.

The other two suspects have not been charged. One of them — currently serving six years for a shooting in Walnut Creek — subsequently recorded videos on Instagram taking credit for the killing, Richmond police Det. Khoa Nguyen testified. Nguyen said police also tracked down the woman who stole the Jeep from a rental service, and she admitted to selling the stolen vehicle to Fiapoto’s girlfriend’s sister.

Judge Glenn Kim, who presided over the hearing, said he was convinced there was enough evidence for the case to advance to trial.

“Obviously, the standard of proof is lower at a preliminary hearing,” Kim said.