Timothy Starks, better known as rapper “Baby Cino,” had recently turned 20 years old. On Instagram, he introduced himself as “The Neighborhood Hope Dealer.”
In the Little Haiti neighborhood, he was filmed at Northwest 56th Street and Third Avenue for his music video “Big Haiti Shottas.” The two-story buildings in the vicinity are owned by the Miami-Dade Housing Agency.
On SoundCloud, Starks had a sizable following, but he exclusively followed Twig Andretti and 6ixGod Spazz, two young rappers who used their music to express “the terror” on Northwest 56th Street.
“If I don’t kill, then I can’t eat … bullets sound just like a beat,” Starks said in a video posted on Instagram on March 1 while listening to gangster rap.
Starks was arrested after a traffic stop in Opa-locka on Tuesday. On Wednesday, prosecutors charged him with carrying a concealed firearm without a legal license, and a gunman killed him shortly after he was released on bond.
Starks was riding in a red Nissan, still wearing an inmate wristband, and was gunned down just minutes later, according to the news outlet. As Starks’ car approached the Palmetto Expressway during rush hour, the shooter allegedly began firing at least 40 shots from another vehicle.
According to the Herald, the Nissan collided with a wall on the ramp, and Starks received several gunshot wounds, including one to the head. He was 20 years old.
Starks’ friend Dante Collins Banks, who picked him up from jail, was also shot in the abdomen and treated at a nearby hospital.
Banks’ mother told WSVN that her son picked up Starks the day after the rapper was arrested. She stated that she was on the phone with Banks when shots were fired.
“If you observed the shooting taking place or if you recall any bit of detail, no matter how minor it is, please call our Crime Stoppers tip line with your information, and remember, you can remain anonymous,” said Miami-Dade Police detective Angel Rodriguez, according to WSVN.
“Detectives are looking at every motive or every bit of information based on the evidence they have here at the scene,” Rodriguez told WPLG. “As you can see, the car has a significant amount of bullet holes.”
He added, “Detectives have the undaunting task right now of backtracking from where the vehicle stopped just to determine how far back the casings are on the 826.”
Source: WPLG
