Ronald (Ra Diggs)
Herron made threat on camera from hospital where pal was recovering from
drug-related shooting by rival Victor Zapata, who was slain
execution-style the next year, court papers say
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Rapper (Ra Diggs) in a 2011 YouTube video.
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS revealed they have a video of a Brooklyn rapper
vowing to murder a drug dealer in retaliation for a shooting over turf -
a threat he made good on, the Daily News has learned.
Ronald (Ra Diggs) Herron delivered the death sentence at the hospital
bedside of one of his lieutenants who had been shot five times by rival
Victor Zapata over selling crack cocaine at the Wyckoff Gardens projects
in 2008, according to court papers.
"See you soon in a cemetery near you!" Herron warns Zapata in the one-minute video clip.
Herron's associate Jorge (Mussolini) Mejia, who is seen in the video
lying in the bed swathed in bandages, surrounded by several members of
their drug crew, starts ranting for the camera and referring to the crew
as "warriors."
Prosecutors contend that Herron found Zapata on Sept. 27, 2009, in a
courtyard of the project and shot him after a brief chase. As Zapata lay
on the ground, Herron allegedly shot him, execution-style, several more
times, killing him.
The scene from the hospital video, which had been posted on the
Internet as part of a longer video called "Project Music," was deleted
after the murder.
Herron, 31, goes on trial Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court charged
with supervising a violent drug enterprise at the Gowanus Houses and
carrying out three murders, including Zapata's.
While Herron was allegedly becoming a force as a drug trafficker and
high-ranking Bloods gang member, he was also a rising hip-hop star.
Calling himself Ra Diggs, Herron produced song tracks and videos with
rapper Waka Flocka Flame and teamed up with another rapper, Uncle Murda,
who had produced music with Jay-Z, according to court papers.
Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis has ruled that the feds can present
evidence of Herron's music videos from YouTube which show him firing
guns, boasting about being a drug kingpin and threatening his enemies.
The judge will also allow the defense to call their own "expert" to
testify that rappers often use boasts and fibs in the lyrics, which
should not be taken literally.
The Herron thug who recorded the hospital video is expected to testify for the government.
Defense lawyer Robert Soloway declined to comment.
