CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Police are searching for an aspiring 25-year-old rapper who they say gunned down a man inside a downtown strip club.
Cleveland homicide detectives on Friday obtained an arrest warrant charging Ernest "Drama" Thornton with aggravated murder in the March 11 shooting of 55-year-old James Hennings at the Alibi Inn.
Hennings was shot in the leg about 2 a.m. after an argument broke out in the Rockwell Avenue club, police said. Security cameras captured the shooting and the gunman as he ran from the club, according to Cleveland Municipal Court records.
Hennings died at MetroHealth Medical Center the day after the shooting.
Previous Coverage: Man shot in strip club has died
Witnesses inside the club identified the shooter as "Drama," according to court records. Thornton has produced several rap videos under the name "Drama" that are promoted by the label Loyal Always.
Thornton also has distinctive tattoos on his face that led police to identify him as the shooter, according to court documents.
Thornton was charged in 2008 as part of a sweeping criminal gang indictment against a group calling themselves the LA Gunnaz, based on East 123rd Street between Lenacrave an Angelus avenues.
The gang charges eventually fell apart against most of the defendants, and Thornton was convicted of aggravated robbery. He served four years in prison, and was released in 2012.
Detectives have said in police reports and court records that Loyal Always is the modern incarnation of LA Gunnaz.
Investigators say members of the group are also tied to a series of violent crimes in the last two years, including a triple-murder inside a Warrensville Heights barbershop and the beating of an accused heroin kingpin.
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