Man arrested in shooting of rapper told 911 call taker that victim had threatened him

A 41-year-old Fort Worth man was arrested Tuesday morning in the fatal shooting of a local rapper in his home last month.

Ronald E. Berry had called 911 after the shooting on the morning of Jan. 30, telling the call taker that he’d shot Demonta Tanksley, 36, because he had come into his house and threatened him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit by homicide Detective Tom O’Brien.

Tanksley, a rapper and club promoter who went by the name Monte Wayne, died from numerous gunshots to his head and body in a room near the home’s front door.

Police recovered 13 spent .40-caliber shell casings near his body, the affidavit states.

A friend told investigators that Tanksley had asked her to drive him to Berry’s house that morning. The friend said that Tanksley wanted to confront Berry because he had heard the man was accusing Tanksley of robbing him and was claiming to have video evidence of the crime, the affidavit states.

The friend told police that when they arrived at the house, Tanksley knocked on the door for about five minutes before being let inside.

After another five minutes or so had passed, the friend called Tanksley, asking him to hurry up. Tanksley told his friend that he was about to come out, the affidavit states.

About a minute later, the friend heard numerous gunshots, fled and called 911, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states that Berry also called 911, telling the call taker that he had shot a man named “Monte” who had come into his house threatening him.

Though he refused to give homicide detectives a statement after the shooting, Berry told the 911 call taker that he had shown Tanksley security camera video of Tanksley “breaking in,” adding that he should call police.

Tanksley, in turn, tried to take his phone and got “hostile” with him, Berry told the call taker. The affidavit does not state when Berry reportedly showed the video to Tanksley nor when the alleged break-in occurred.

“He said he had no other choice because ‘Monte’ said he was going to come over in the morning and wanted to beef,” O’Brien wrote in the affidavit.

When police arrived, Berry was standing in his front yard. He told officers he was the shooter and directed them to the gun in his pocket, the affidavit states.

Wanda Tanksley previously told the Star-Telegram that she last spoke to her son on Jan. 29, and that he planned to go to “a friend’s house” the next day “to talk about a rumor going around.”

“I don’t know what happened once he got there,” Wanda Tanksley told the Star-Telegram. “Not knowing is the hardest part.”

This report includes information from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published February 13, 2018 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Man arrested in shooting of rapper told 911 call taker that victim had threatened him."