Las Vegas police: 9 arrested in gang-related killing that stemmed from rap beef

Nine people have been arrested in connection with a 2025 Las Vegas gang-related shooting that stemmed from a rap feud and claimed the life of a man who wasn’t the intended target, police said.

The most recent suspect in the slaying was taken into custody this week, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Jamar Holman, 33, was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of open murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and two counts of discharging a gun into an occupied structure with the intent to promote or assist a criminal gang.

Michael Simmons Jr., 22, was shot dead in the 6000 block of Coja Street, near Patrick Lane and Cimarron Road, on July 9, 2025. Simmons was a beloved barber and was the father to a 2-year-old daughter, according to those who knew him.

According to a Metro declaration of warrant/summons, Holman, believed to be a member of the “Five” street gang, conspired with fellow Five members Rashid “Uchies” Soukesian, Eduardo “T-Raw” Baez, Artavious “Da Dogg” Woods, Calvin “Spark G” Hicks, Rickey “Ratchet/Lit Rickey” Allen, Johntyrae “John Stockton/Tiny Sol” Mitchell and others, and participated in the shooting that led to Simmons’ death.

Police say Holman and others also conducted reconnaissance on the home where Simmons was shot prior to and after the shooting.

According to police, Simmons wasn’t the intended target of the shooting. Instead, police said, the target was Ishad “Shady Rose” Livingston, an alleged member of the rival gang “YNIC” who police said was living at the Coja residence.

Simmons, who was over for a dice game, was shot in the head after Five members shot more than 40 rounds into the garage where Livingston, Simmons and other associates were at, police said. Officers were called to the scene just before 12:40 a.m. and Simmons was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police initially believed that a white Dodge Charger seen leaving the area shortly after the shooting may have been driven by suspects related to Simmons’ killing. But investigators later learned the vehicle belonged to an associate of Livingston who fled the area after the shooting.

Witnesses who live nearby told police that two vehicles, a black BMW sedan and a gray Chevrolet SUV, were parked at an empty lot on South Cimarron and departed the area “at a high rate of speed” northbound after the shooting, the report said. Police later learned the BMW was registered to Soukesian and the Chevy was being rented by Allen, according to Metro.

Rap beef

Police said members of Five and YNIC began squabbling after the July 2024 death of Five member Gerald “Poo Pistols” Harvey. Livingston was in a “well-known” rap feud with Harvey, and the two had previously been in a shooting in North Las Vegas where they shot each other in January, 2024, police said.

The feud was likely a motive for wanting to shoot Livingston, police said. Harvey’s death was still being investigated by homicide detectives, police said, and no suspects had been identified and no arrests had been made.

Metro spokesperson Robert Wicks said on Friday that Holman was believed to be the last outstanding suspect in the department’s homicide investigation into Simmons’ death. Court records show Holman made an initial appearance Thursday in Las Vegas Justice Court and was denied bail. An attorney is not yet listed on Holman’s case file, and he is scheduled to return to court for a status check on Tuesday.

Soukesian, 28; Baez, 29; Woods, 27; Hicks, 38; Allen, 30; and Mitchell, 27, each appear in Holman’s arrest report and have pending cases in District Court in connection with Simmons’ killing. They have each pleaded not guilty to their charges, according to court records.

A second superseding indictment for Soukesian, Baez, Woods, Hicks and Allen also names suspected Five members Kenjuan “Toxx” McDaniel and Darion “Fade” Headd as co-defendants.

McDaniel — who was accused by Metro in 2023 of being responsible for the 2021 shooting death of Randall Wallace; that case is still pending, according to court records — and Headd have also pleaded not guilty, court records show. McDaniel was arrested after police said he included details from the 2021 killing that were not publicly released in a rap song posted on YouTube.

Other suspects in court

Prosecutors say McDaniel and Headd, both of whom are serving sentences at High Desert State Prison for other matters, gave instructions from prison to retaliate against Livingston.

McDaniel and Headd face multiple charges including murder, conspiracy, possessing a portable telecommunications device by a prisoner and racketeering.

Soukesian, Baez, Woods, Hicks, Allen and Mitchell were each taken into custody between Aug. 18, 2025, and March 17 and face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied structure and racketeering. Soukesian, Baez and Woods also face multiple counts of grand larceny of a firearm, grand larceny of an automobile, residential burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary, which prosecutors said the proceeds from those alleged crimes went to further Five gang activities. In August, Soukesian and Baez were indicted by a Clark County grand jury for a string of burglaries involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen cash and north of $1 million in stolen property.

Arnold Weinstock, an attorney representing Hicks, said on Friday that his client intends on fighting the case against him through its conclusion. Attorneys for the other co-defendants were not immediately available to comment.

Each of the co-defendants in the District Court case have a status check scheduled for Tuesday.