How rare ammunition could solve Biggie Smalls’ murder mystery as Tupac fans mourn star on 25th anniversary of his death
A RARE type of ammo could be the key to finally solving the mysterious murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G - as fans of his former friend-turned-rival Tupac mourn the 25th anniversary of his unsolved slaying.
Biggie Smalls, , was gunned down while riding in a car in Los Angeles in March 1997, just six months after Tupac Shakur was slain in similar circumstances in Las Vegas.
At the time of his death Biggie, 24, was one of the biggest rappers in the world.
He was shot on March 9, 1997, while leaving an industry party at Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
He got into the back of a GMC Suburban car in a three-vehicle convoy, but as the cars attempted to pull away, a black Chevy SS Impala pulled up alongside his window and a gunman opened fire.
Biggie was shot four times, according to an autopsy report. The fatal bullet entered his right hip and ripped through several organs, including his liver, heart, and lung. The other bullets struck Wallace in his left forearm, his back, and his left thigh.
He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he arrived in full cardiac arrest and was
NO ARRESTS, ONLY THEORIES
The rapper's death has long stumped investigators and no suspects have ever been arrested in connection with the case, which remains open.
Some believe that the deaths of Biggie and Tupac were tied to a so-called rap war between East and West Coast hip-hop artists and their record labels that was boiling over at the time.
Shakur recorded for Marion “Suge” Knight’s Los Angeles-based Death Row Records, while Biggie was signed with Sean "Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment in New York.
It's been claimed that Biggie was murdered at the behest of Knight as revenge for the death of Tupac.
claim Knight hired two corrupt LAPD cops, Rafael Perez and David Mack, who also allegedly worked as security for him, to organize the "professional" hit.
The theory was first proposed by Russell Poole, a detective for the department assigned to the original murder investigation.
It's since been backed by former FBI agent Phil Carson, who conducted his own investigation into the murder and believed the LAPD helped to cover their involvement up.
Mack and Perez have both previously denied any involvement in the killing but were both later arrested and charged for other crimes.
Mack was sentenced to 14 years in jail in 1997 for a $722,000 armed bank robbery in LA, while Perez pleaded guilty to stealing $80,000 worth of cocaine from an evidence lock up and admitted to shooting dead a gang member.
KEY EVIDENCE
However, the key to solving Biggie's case may rest on the type of ammunition used in the hit, which the FBI identified as "Gecko 9mm", a rare metal-piercing munition manufactured in Germany.
At the time of Biggie's death, the ammo was only available in the US through just two distributors: one in California and one in New Jersey.
An FBI report publicly released in 2011 revealed that in a raid of Mack's home after Biggie's death officers discovered Gecko 9mm rounds and a black Chevy SS Impala parked in his driveway.
They also found a ";shrine" to Tupac in his garage, the report states.
The FBI file noted the remarkable failure of the LAPD to connect the car, gun and ammunition used in the hit, to the ammunition and car found at Mack's home.
"LAPD has also never matched the ammunition found [location redacted] during the search after the bank robbery with the bullets used to kill Biggie," the 2002 report states.
"It is unclear whether the 9mm Gecko ammunition has ever been compared to some of the 9mm ammunition found (redacted) that is believed to be Gecko."
LAPD 'COVER-UP'
A retired LAPD cop testified about Mack's Shakur shrine in 2005 and his theory that Mack used his police expertise to help Knight orchestrate the hit as retribution for the murder of Tupac.
Phil Carson also recently suggested that a Nation of Islam hitman was hired by Knight, Mack, and Perez to fire the fatal shots.
He told the New York Post in May the evidence he has reviewed suggests Amir Muhammad pulled the trigger on Biggie.
"All the evidence points to Amir Muhammad," Carson said. "He's the one who pulled the trigger.
"There were plenty of others who helped orchestrate it [and] allowed him to pull the trigger."
Muhammad, formerly known as Harry Billups, is also curiously the .
In a 2003 FBI report obtained by the Post, it's claimed: "Amir Muhammad, AKA Harry Billups, the godparent to LAPD Officer David Mack’s two children, has been identified by several sources as the trigger man.
"Mack is a registered owner of a 1995 Black SS Impala with chrome wheels, the exact description given as being driven by Wallace’s shooter.”
'MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE'
Carson told the Post the alleged cover-up "was the biggest miscarriage of justice in my 20-year career at the FBI";.
He said: "I had evidence that LAPD officers were involved and I was shut down by the LAPD and city attorneys inside Los Angeles."
Carson said the original target was not Biggie, but Sean “Puffy” Combs, who was in the vehicle ahead of Biggie’s SUV on the night of the murder.
Meanwhile, that many aspects of the case remain a mystery and says there are several peculiar matters surrounding Biggie’s murder that have never been fully investigated or explained.
Dorsey, who created Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders and was a co-producer on Netflix’s Unsolved documentary on the murders, told The Sun that breakthroughs in these areas
He said: “Even solved cases can have loose ends and unanswered questions, and Biggie’s murder is no exception.
"I’m exploring these smaller mysteries connected to this crime because they fascinate me and because sometimes the key to clearing a case is in the small details.
"LAPD hasn’t officially cleared it yet. There are new potential witnesses and other pieces of evidence in my series that could bring the case that much-needed closure.”
The FBI shelved its investigation into Biggie's murder in 2005, however, the case remains open with the LAPD.
TUPAC ANNIVERSARY
Monday, September 13th, marks the 25th anniversary of Tupac's death in Las Vegas. His killing also remains unsolved.
The California Love singer had been watching Mike Tyson dismantle Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand on September 7, 1996, when he got into a scuffle with gang member Orlando Anderson in the lobby.
Two hours later, the 25-year-old was gunned down in his black BMW at a red light on Flamingo Road and Koval Lane. Suge Knight was also in the car.
Shakur was hit with four .40 caliber bullets, two in the chest, one in the thigh, one in the arm.
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Six days after the shooting he died in hospital.
No arrests were ever made.
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