Disabled Rap Artist Joe Dinero Shot Dead in North Carolina Home

On Sunday (Oct. 14), in Raleigh, N.C., the News Observer reports that aspiring rap artist Jose Antonio Baez, 25, was shot to death. Baez, who rapped under the moniker Joe Dinero and was also disabled, was found murdered in his apartment at 1113 1/2 Carlisle St. in Raleigh.

Two men and one woman have been charged with the murder. David Lewis Byrd, 23, and Ernestine DeWanda Hinton were arrested early Wednesday (Oct. 17), and later the same day, Demetrius Lee Morgan, 24, was also arrested in conjunction with the crime.

Two days prior to Baez's death, the police had been called to an apartment within the same building in response to a report of armed robbery. Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue confirmed in a statement on Monday that Dr. Aal-Nubiaimhoteppokorohamz, 27, was hit in the head with a handgun and robbed of an Apple MacBook Pro laptop, $140 in cash and a .40 caliber handgun.

The doctor's sister, Sonja Aal-Nubia, who called 911 last Thursday night (Oct. 11) during the robbery, claimed that intruders were looking for Baez that night. "They robbed my brother, but they were asking for (Baez)," Aal-Nubiaimhoteppokorohamz's sister said.

Police arrested 20-year-old Dominique Marquel McLaughlin on Tuesday night (Oct. 16) regarding the robbery in Aal-Nubiaimhoteppokorohamz's home. McLaughlin was questioned by detectives and then charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon for threatening to use of his gun. McLaughlin is currently being held on $103,000 bond.

Baez leaves behind his mother, two sisters and a 2-year-old daughter. According to his sister, Anheleta Fermin, 18, he was a well-known performer in local hip-hop circles and venues, where patrons knew him as Joe Dinero. He struggled to overcome blindness in one eye and a heart problem while pursuing a music career.

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