| Murder of Aaron Palmer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Compton, California |
| Date | June 1, 1997 |
Attack type | Shooting |
No. of participants | 2 |
| Motive | Gang rivalry |
On June 1, 1997, Death Row Records employee and Mob Piru Bloods member Aaron "Heron" Palmer was shot dead in Compton, California. [1] Palmer's death was followed by the murders of several other Mob Pirus from Suge Knight's inner circle, as part of a gang war between the Mob Piru and another Bloods set (subgroup), the Fruit Town Piru.
As the CEO of Death Row Records, Suge Knight was known for hiring gang members from various Bloods sets (subgroups), including Mob Piru, Lueders Park Piru, and Fruit Town Piru. Aaron Palmer was a member of the Mob Piru, a gang which Suge Knight was also affiliated with. Palmer worked as a bodyguard for Knight. [1]
On September 7, 1996, Palmer participated in the beating of Orlando Anderson in the MGM Grand, along with Suge Knight, Tupac Shakur, and several other members of the Mob Piru Bloods. [2] Anderson was a member of the South Side Compton Crips who had attacked a member of Suge Knight's inner circle several months prior, and was coincidently present in the MGM Grand at the same time as Knight's entourage. [3]
In the summer of 1996, George Williams, who worked as a bodyguard at Death Row Records, was fired by Suge Knight for failing to return two Death Row Records cars which he had borrowed. [4] This was followed by the attempted murder of George Williams, who was shot in the buttocks when several other bodyguards from Death Row Records attempted to kidnap him. [1] Following this incident, Williams became associated with Fruit Town Piru member Rodrick Cardale “Lil Rod” Reed, who was an enemy of Suge Knight. [5] The pair are alleged to be behind the murders of several people from Suge Knight's inner circle over the subsequent years.
On the evening of June 1, 1997, Palmer was driving home after a Death Row Records party at Gonzales Park, Compton. While Palmer was waiting at a red light, a van stopped behind his vehicle. Two men came out of the van and fired multiple shots at Palmer, who died of his wounds. [1]
Bobby Ladd, an officer from the Compton Police Department, was surprised by the murder of Aaron Palmer, stating: [1]
When Heron went down, we were all like, ‘Whoa! What’s going on here?’ Until that moment, nobody ever had the nerve to take out anyone in Suge’s inner circle. This was no ordinary murder. Someone was sending a message.
Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American record executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is currently serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg (Doggystyle) and 2Pac during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row was making over US $150 million a year.
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Timothy M. Brennan and Robert Ladd joined the Compton Police Department as officers in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In 1988, they were promoted to become Compton's two-man gang unit. The police department could only afford to have two people at the time, even though many smaller cities typically had up to four times as many. As the gang unit, Brennan and Ladd were responsible for dealing with and investigating over fifty-five gangs in the 10.1 square mile area that make up the City of Compton. They have served as the primary or assisting investigating officers on hundreds of gang-related murders and thousands of gang-related shootings, and witnessed instances of gang-related rapes, robberies, drive-by shootings, and shootings at police officers.
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The Mob Piru are a set of the Piru gang alliance, which is itself part of the larger Bloods alliance. Suge Knight, the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records, is an affiliate.
On April 3, 2002, Alton "Buntry" McDonald, a member of the Mob Piru Bloods and a production manager at Death Row Records, was shot dead at a gas station in Compton, California. The murder was believed to be the result of fighting between two rival "sets" of the Bloods, the Mob Pirus and the Fruit Town Pirus.
The South Side Compton Crips are a "set" of the Crips gang alliance, based in Compton, California. This gang is known for the murder of Tupac Shakur.
The Fruit Town Piru are a set of the Piru gang alliance, which itself is part of the larger Bloods alliance. This Piru set is known for its rivalry with the Mob Piru Bloods during the early 2000s.
On October 16, 2002, Death Row Records employee Henry 'Hendog' Smith was murdered in a drive by shooting in Vermont Vista, Los Angeles. Smith was a close friend of Suge Knight and was known for designing the logo for Death Row Records. During the time of Smith's murder, the Mob Piru Bloods affiliated with Death Row Records were embroiled in a gang war with another Bloods set known as the Fruit Town Piru, which resulted in the deaths of several of Suge Knight's associates. However, investigators attributed Smith's murder to the Denver Lane Bloods, rather than the Fruit Town Piru.
The Lueders Park Piru are a set of the Piru gang alliance, which itself is part of the larger Bloods alliance. The Lueders Park Piru has its origins in the Lueders Park Hustlers, an independent street gang which was instrumental in the formation of the Bloods gang alliance in 1972.
The estranged bodyguard is said to have found an ally in his vendetta — a drug dealer and fellow Blood who believed Knight had ordered the killing of one of his friends.
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