Murder charges against
Philadelphia rapper Cassidy were lowered today (August 16) in court.
The
charges against the
rapper were dropped from first-degree murder to third-degree murder,
stemming
from a shooting behind his Philadelphia row home.
The shooting came on the heels of the rapper’s highly anticipated sophomore album, I’m A Hustla, on Swizz Beats’ Full Surface label.
“Full Surface is in full support of Cassidy,” Swizz told AllHipHop.com.
We’re moving forward and feeling positive. We’re one step closer.”
Reps for Cassidy said he would be home in the next three weeks. Municipal court Judge Marsha
Niefield ordered the 23-year-old rapper to stand trial on the
third-degree murder
charge.
The
charges stem from an
April 15 shooting in Philadelphia.
Cassidy,
born Barry Reese,
is charged with murdering 22-year-old Desmond Hawkins and wounding
Daniel Irvin,
22, and Bobby Hoyle, 21 after a dispute earlier in the day.
The men
allegedly came to
Cassidy’s Philadelphia home to “make peace,” but
were instead
met with a barrage of gunfire as they sat in their parked
car.
Irvin
and Hoyle were wounded
while Hawkins died at the Albert Einstein Medical Center.
During
preliminary hearings,
Cassidy’s case was bolstered when one of the victims admitted
under oath
that he initially lied to police and had not actually seen the rapper
fire a
weapon.
“I
wanted to go home,”
Bobby Hoyle said during the preliminary hearings. “I had a
bullet in my
leg that they didn’t take out, and I didn’t have any rest
for three days."
Prosecutors claim
that Cassidy and or his associates fired at least four guns. The DA
prosecuting
the case said that the ruling would be appealed.
