A musician known for a viral dance anthem has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to the fatal shooting of his cousin. The sentence was handed down this week in a Georgia courtroom.
The artist, Ricky Lamar Hawk, accepted a plea deal to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. As part of the agreement, he also pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, using a firearm during a felony, and concealing a death. A more serious charge of felony murder was dismissed.
The incident dates back to early 2021, when authorities responded to a residence and found a 34-year-old man deceased from multiple gunshot wounds. Hawk, then 23, was arrested the following month and has remained in custody since that time. He will receive credit for the over four years already served.
Legal proceedings have highlighted the defendant’s documented mental health struggles. His plea was formally entered as “guilty but mentally ill,” a designation that acknowledges a psychiatric condition at the time of the crime. Following his initial arrest, a representative for the artist publicly cited a history of mental illness and asked for public support.
The musician first gained widespread fame as a teenager in 2015 with a chart-topping single and accompanying dance craze. His rapid rise was followed by a series of legal issues in the years preceding the deadly shooting, including arrests on assault and weapons charges.
The court has now concluded the case with a multi-decade prison term, bringing a legal resolution to a tragedy that cut short one life and irrevocably altered another.
