Rapper Kenny Clutch Killed in Vegas Shootout

23 Feb, 2013

The Clark County coroner confirmed that Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr. was killed, although the cause of death was still being investigated. It wasn’t clear Friday if Cherry died of gunshots or the crash.

The coroner hasn’t identified the taxi driver and his female passenger who died when the cab exploded early Thursday, but a family member identified the cab driver as Michael Boldon, 62.

Boldon’s older sister, Carolyn Jean Trimble, told The Associated Press that Boldon was a father and grandfather who was born and raised in Michigan and had been driving taxis since he moved to Las Vegas about 1 1/2 years ago. Boldon loved watching car races and drove a Mercedes when he wasn’t in a cab.

“Everybody just loved him,” Trimble said. “When that car hit that cab, Mike had to be in there talking and laughing.”

Police were searching for the Range Rover with dark tinted windows and custom rims that set off the fiery crash on the Las Vegas Strip. Besides the three people killed, six other people were injured in what marked the latest in a series of violent episodes in Las Vegas in recent months.

Cherry’s great aunt, Patricia Sims, of Oakland, Calif., told AP that Cherry’s parents were flying to Las Vegas to claim their 27-year-old son’s body.

“Right now my heart is breaking,” Sims said. “This has really been a tragedy. Kenny was just a delightful kid.”

Sims, 75, said Cherry grew up in the Berkeley and Oakland area and attended two Catholic high schools there. He moved to Las Vegas in the last couple of years, though Sims said she didn’t know her nephew was a rapper using the name Kenny Clutch. Cherry was particularly close with Sims’ 106-year-old mother.

“I haven’t been able to tell her,” Sims said of Cherry’s death.

Cherry’s father, Kenneth Cherry Sr., shared with NBC Bay Area on how felt after his son’s girlfriend called him at 5 a.m. with the tragic news. “This is something you never want to go through,” he said. “This is the hardest thing in my life right now because you never want your children to leave before you leave.”

“I heard there was some sort of disagreement and the guys pulled to the side of him, and rolled their window down, and he rolled his window down. They just started shooting. My son for the record did not have any guns in his car. There was no gun battle. Nothing like that,” Cherry Sr. continued.

Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie told reporters Thursday that the shooting was sparked by an argument in the valet area of the nearby Aria hotel-casino, and it traveled to one of the busiest intersections on the Las Vegas Strip. As bullets flew from the Range Rover, the Maserati ran a red light and smashed into the taxi.

Three more cars and a utility truck also collided as the Range Rover sped off in the darkness at about 4:30 a.m.

Police said a passenger in the Maserati was cooperating with the investigation.

“We have numerous witnesses to this,” Sgt. John Sheahan said. “But what is the genesis of this? We don’t know yet.”

Billboard

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