Division II College Basketball Star Arrested for Involvement in Lil Phat's Murder

Decensae White, a standout basketball player at San Francisco State University, was arrested on charges connected to the murder of Lil Phat.

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Complex Original

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Decensae White, a standout basketball player at San Francisco State University, was arrested on charges connected to the murder of Lil Phat. The 25-year-old was arrested in Redwood City, CA and extradited to Fulton County in Georgia on May 17. The role he may have played in the killing has not been made clear by prosecutors.

White is one of five people charged with the June 2012 murder. The rapper, whose birth name is Melvin Vernell III, was gunned down by two men at a parking garage near an Atlanta hospital.

One of the five suspects was Russian mobster Mani Chulpayev. Prosecutors believe he ordered the murder of the 19-year-old rapper after he told the police he leased a stolen BMW from Chulpayev.

White had moved from Georgia to the Bay Area and started for San Francisco State during the 2012-13 season. The guard said he was excited to get play basketball and "get [his] whole life back together." The developments have left his family stunned.

“We are in total shock right now. He is the most non-violent person I’ve ever known in my life. This is beyond anyone’s comprehension,” said his father, David White.

[via AllHipHop, San Mateo County Times]

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