Shocking news emerged from Mississippi this week when it was announced that the up-and-coming rap performer known as Superstar Pride was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 40-year-old man, as local ABC affiliate WAPT reports.
The 21-year-old suspect, whose given name is Cadarrius Pride, is now being held without bond at the Panola County Detention Center, as indicated by the sheriff's office.
Authorities have indicated that the first-degree murder charge Pride is now facing stems from a shooting said to have occurred around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday at a residence located on Highway 35 North near Batesville.
When law enforcement personnel responded to the home, they found the victim, since identified as Marcus Wheatley, dead of a gunshot wound.
An investigation immediately commenced, and details were brought forth that pointed to Pride as the prime suspect in the killing.
Wheatley's grandmother, Mary Ann Strong, told police she was present when the shooting took place and confirmed to authorities that Pride had been a client of her grandson, who worked as a barber.
According to Strong, Pride turned up at Wheatley's home and began to chase him outside while wielding a gun. “And the young man was shooting at him, and he finally shot him down,” she explained.
The grieving grandmother added that she went outdoors and observed Pride continuing to shoot toward Wheatley, noting, “He fell here, and he shot about three times after he fell, and he walked over to me, and he pointed the gun at me and asked if I was going to tell it.”
In an horrific ending to the entire ordeal, Strong stated that Pride returned to where Wheatley had fallen to the ground “and fired a last shot in his head” before taking off in a red pickup truck that was later found abandoned in another town.
A search for Pride ensued, and in the end, local law enforcement officials were notified by the suspect's family members that he wished to turn himself in, which he did around 4:47 p.m. that same day.
As TMZ reported, Pride first gained notoriety when his song, Painting Pictures became a TikTok and YouTube sensation and ultimately claimed a spot on Billboard's Top 25 charts.
Strong believes that it was Pride's thirst for greater stardom that may have led to her grandson's murder, saying that the rapper wanted Wheatley to help him with the production of another music video, but that request was declined. “He wanted Marcus to follow him, and he couldn't do it. He couldn't help him make no more money,” she opined.
Pride's father, Jeffery Anderson, denied any knowledge of what may have prompted his son's actions, saying, “It's still something that's got to be looked into to see what all transpired. As of now, it's just so early.”
Wheatley is being remembered by his grandmother as “a real soft-hearted person [who] did whatever he could to help anybody,” and with Pride's arrest, perhaps she and the rest of the victim's family will receive some measure of justice in what appears to be the senseless loss of their loved one.
