Two men jailed on accusations they robbed, fatally shot rapper in drug deal gone bad
Two men have been arrested in connection with the robbery and fatal shooting of a rapper Feb. 16 that investigators say was a drug deal gone bad.
Dakota Lee Clay and John David Richard Bell, both 20, were arrested on a capital murder warrants Friday. Bond was set at $500,000 for each.
Homicide Detective J. Cedillo said Caleb Sims, 24, had driven two other men to the 4800 block of Eagle Trace Parkway to sell marijuana to the suspects but were then robbed by the men.
“It was a drug deal gone bad basically,” Cedillo said.
He said the suspects then opened fire on Sims’ car.
Sims was struck multiple times and left incapacitated, Cedillo said.
The front seat passenger managed to drive the car to a Dairy Queen restaurant on North Beach Street. There, he and the backseat passenger waived down help from a MedStar ambulance that had been parked, awaiting calls for service, Cedillo said.
Sims was taken to Medical City Alliance Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The front seat passenger was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital where he was treated and later released. The backseat passenger did not require hospitalization, Cedillo said.
Cedillo declined to release additional details about the case, citing the ongoing investigation by him and Detective E. Pate.
Cedillo said additional arrests could be forthcoming.
Tarrant County court records show Clay had just been sentenced one month ago to three years deferred adjudication probation after pleading guilty to possession of marijuana.
Bell has a pending possession of marijuana charge and had just been released on bond in the case on Jan. 27, records show.
Friends have said Sims, known musically as SLVMP CEE, was a Mansfield Legacy graduate and father of a young girl. He was a talented rapper and musical artist, they say, who had just performed the day before his death at the CLTR Fest.
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 3:41 PM.
