Story from the our source:
Los Angeles County prosecutors filed murder charges this afternoon against a 23-year-old Georgia promoter who is accused of fatally shooting up-and-coming rapper Dolla at the Beverly Center.
Aubrey Louis Berry faces a single felony count of murder and two counts of assault with a firearm in the death of Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Anthony Burton II. He is scheduled to appear for arraignment later this afternoon in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
If convicted, Berry faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. He is being held on $1.1-million bail.
The charges stem from the Monday shooting at the Beverly Center during an argument in the valet parking area. Burton had come to Los Angeles that day to put the finishing touches on his first album and stopped off at the mall to do some shopping.
Burton, who was shot several times as he stood near another rapper, D.J. Shabbazz, was pronounced dead a short time later at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Police say Berry fled the scene in a rented Mercedes. But officers quickly got the license plate from eyewitnesses and were able to put out a regional alert. Authorities tracked Berry to the waiting area at Terminal 1 at LAX.
When confronted by police, Berry "got up with his hands in the air and said, 'I have a gun in my waistband, don't shoot me,' " said airport police Sgt. Bill Holcomb.
Authorities say they are continuing to investigate the case but investigators said the shooting could have roots in a running dispute between the victim and the defendant in Atlanta. The sources told The Times that detectives said Burton and Berry were recently involved in an altercation at an Atlanta strip club frequented by the hip-hop community.
The sources would not say where the fight took place. But an employee of Platinum 21 Adult Entertainment interviewed by The Times said he recalled that Dolla was involved in a fight at the club May 13 with a man known at the club as "A.B," which matches Berry's initials.