The grave of Baton Rouge rapper Gee Money (real name Garrett Burton) was reportedly desecrated on Friday (February 23). According to WBRZ , Burton’s mother Ava received a phone call from someone who told her his grave had been vandalized. Upon arriving at the cemetery, she discovered it was much worse than she imagined.
“It had been demolished, I thought it was something different, I didn’t know they tore all this up,” Ava said, “Just took a hammer, and beat it open, I guess. I was more mad than I was hurt, I couldn’t understand why someone would do something this. When someone is dead, you let the dead rest in peace, you don’t do that.”
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Ava visits her son’s grave every day, where she prays and quietly reflects on his life. She’s understandably bothered by what could’ve been. As she explained, “Atlantic Records was going to sign him. He was coming out of the studio that Sunday, he was leaving Monday, [and] he never got the chance to do it.”
Suspect Deandre Fields—an affiliate of NBA YoungBoy—was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder in 2019 but took a plea deal. Fields, also known as NBA Lil Pap, was ultimately charged as an accessory in the killing and received significantly less jail time. Meanwhile, nobody has been charged for the actual murder. Ava said, “It’s horrible. My sisters, everyone, my nieces, my nephews, everyone is upset. Why would you do this? I can’t understand. I wish they find who did this, I really want to know. I’m trying to figure out what made you do that now? We’re going on seven years.”
East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said as a result of the killing, more violence from gang activity made it difficult for his office to fully prosecute Fields, particularly since Donovan Cortez Jefferson, the key witness in Gee Money’s murder, was arrested on murder charges.
Fields maintains his innocence and initially didn’t want to take the deal, telling the judge at the time, “I can’t take time for something that I didn’t do. I’m going to agree to the deal, but I want to say for the record that I’m 100% innocent.”