A rapper once signed under hip-hop mogul Jay-Z’s record label was recently sentenced to 8 years in prison for his role in a 2009 murder in New York.
According to the Associated Press, rapper Tru Life, born Robert Rosado, was sentenced alongside his brother Marcus, on March 16 for his role in attacking two men following a club altercation. The incident led to the death of one man, Christopher Guerrero, and the wounding of another, Jason Gray. Guerrero was stabbed in the stomach and Gray was stabbed in the chest, following an argument that began at Club Pasha in Manhattan.
Marcus, 39, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month and received 10 years in prison, while Tru Life pleaded guilty to gang assault.
“Robert is extremely saddened by what happened. Mr. Guerrero did not deserve what happened to him,” the rapper’s lawyer, Alan Abramson told the AP.
Lawyers for the brothers explained in court that Guerrero wasn’t their intended target. But court documents acquired by AP revealed that after the argument spilled out on the streets, the Rosados chased Guerrero and Gray into an apartment lobby, where the victims were stabbed. The two men later walked outside and collapsed on the ground.
Guerrero’s relatives criticized the brothers’ sentences, which were set in plea bargains. “Christopher, who was unarmed and defenseless, was attacked,” Guerrero’s brother, Jason Ramirez, told the AP. “We believe the system has failed us.”
According to XXLMag.com, both men have been in prison since the time of their arrest in 2009 and will get credit for time already served.
Tru Life was once signed to Jay-Z’s Latin-based Roc La Familia, a subdivision of his Roc-A-Fella Records label. But according to MTV News, the Puerto Rican rapper never released an album under the label.