A virtual Tarrant County court trial held in September went viral over the weekend and brought renewed attention to a 12-year-old Fort Worth rapper with a criminal history.
The juvenile, who has gone by the stage names Lil Rodney, Baby Savage and 30Shotz, allegedly committed arson, shot a 1-year-old baby (who survived) and violated the terms of his probation by cutting off his ankle monitor. For these charges, Judge Alex Kim of the 323rd District Court in Fort Worth sentenced him to seven years in a juvenile detention facility, even as the defendant, in tears, pleaded for clemency.
“Rodney, I’m really tired of you lying to me. Every time you come in here, you cry. You know that, right?” Kim said sternly. “Every single time, you beg me for one more chance. You swear to God, ‘On my momma’s name, I’m not gonna cut off the monitor, I’m not gonna run off.’ Every single time.”
According to prosecutors, Rodney fled his probation on Aug. 14. In the weeks since, was caught smoking weed and a picture in which he posed with a firearm appeared online. He also shared a screenshot of a social media video with the caption, “Fuck Judge Kim.”
“You know, once you put something on the internet, it doesn’t come down,” Kim said.
At the hearing’s conclusion, Kim beseeched Rodney to have more gratitude for his grandfather, who acted as his legal guardian during the court proceedings.
“Your papa is a wise man. You know that?” the judge said. “He is here every single time you have a detention hearing. Every single time. Because he loves you and cares about you. But you’re out there thinking that there’s something better than the home that he’s providing you.”
According to blogger Sandra Rose, Rodney’s mother was 16 when he was born, and the family was subsequently abandoned by his father. The mother said in an interview that she was incarcerated twice while he was a toddler. In an August interview with Beezy TV, Rodney alleged that his brother was also incarcerated (but he also lied about his age by claiming that he was 14).
The Zoom conference led by Kim achieved online virality after a blog called KollegeKidd reported on it and shared the video on Instagram.
You can watch the video of the Zoom conference below:
The Reason The Cutlass Is Blue |FNR_TIGG12-Year-Old Fort Worth Rapper Sentenced to 7 Years Over Shooting 1-Year-Old
Video via RealToonTv youtube subscribe button icon Subscribe On Youtube
A 12-year-old aspiring rapper from Fort Worth, Texas is behind bars after shooting a one-year-old child.
Per the Dallas Observer, the juvenile has been looking to break into the rap game and performs under the stage names Lil Rodney, Baby Savage, and 30Shotz. He was sentenced to seven years in a juvenile detention facility in September for shooting a one-year-old child that survived the incident.
Typically, it would be customary to grant a young suspect some form of clemency. But during the virtual trial, Judge Alex Kim of the 323rd District Court in Fort Worth was not swayed by the 12-year-old's pleas or tears. Kim explained that the child has lied to the court on several occasions throughout his trial. He also violated the terms of his probation by cutting off his ankle monitor and committing other crimes like arson.
"Rodney, I’m really tired of you lying to me. Every time you come in here, you cry. You know that, right?" Kim said to the suspect per the Observer. "Every single time, you beg me for one more chance. You swear to God, ‘On my momma’s name, I’m not gonna cut off the monitor, I’m not gonna run off.’ Every single time."
The suspect also boasted about violating the terms of his probation via social media. In August, he allegedly posted a now-deleted picture on his Instagram of himself smoking weed which he captioned: "Fuck Judge Kim."
"You know, once you put something on the internet, it doesn’t come down," Kim said.
Rodney's mother was reportedly 16 when she had him. After his father abandoned the family and his mother was arrested multiple times while he was a toddler, Rodney's grandfather became his legal guardian.
Sign up for Complex notifications for breaking news and stories.
Skip to content
Lil Rodney has many years incarcerated after he shot a baby.
A 12-year old rapper was sentenced in the shooting of a 1-year old baby but received little mercy from a judge.
A Texas judge chastised Lil Rodney, a Crips gang member, who shot a baby after taking off an ankle monitor.
Lil Rodney was subsequently sentenced to 7 years in a juvenile detention center, crying upon learning his fate back in September. The judge let Lil Rodney know he would be incarcerated until the age of 19, prompting him to cry. The judge was not sympathetic.
The judge said, “Every time you come in here you cry. You know that, right? Every single time, you beg me for one more chance. You swear to God, ‘On my mama’s name,’ ‘I’m not gonna cut off the monitor, I’m not gonna run off.”
Rodney, also known as 30 Shotz and Baby Savage, confessed to cutting off his ankle monitor to attend the funeral of an unidentified friend after authorities denied him permission. Both Rodney’s grandfather and birth mother attended the meeting. She gave birth to him at the age of 16 and was also sent to jail two times since the boy was born. His father has long abandoned the family and was not present for any of the virtual trial.
In 2019, at the time he shot the baby, Lil Rodney was already on probation for arson.