DETROIT (WWJ) -- Nearly a year after the bodies of two Detroit rappers and their friend were discovered in a vacant building in Highland Park, police are out with an update in the case.
According to officials with the Michigan State Police Second District, investigators have determined that 38-year-old Armani Kelly, 31-year-old Montoya Givens, and 31-year-old Dante Wicker were killed in "a gang-related incident."
The MSP Homicide Task Force has been investigating this case since Feb. 2, 2023, when the three men were found dead of multiple gunshot wounds inside an abandoned apartment building near McNichols and Log Cabin, near City of Detroit border.
Police began searching for Kelly, Wicker and Givens the previous week when their scheduled rap performance at Lounge 31 near 7 Mile and Gratiot in Detroit on Jan. 21 was canceled, and no one heard from them again.
While the men were not seen alive again, police now say detectives do not believe the men's deaths were connected to the cancelation rap show.
"At this time there does not appear to be a relationship between Lounge 31 and this homicide," MSP stated, in a Jan. 23, 2024, update.
"It doesn't really have anything to do, you know, with music or Lounge 31 or anything like that," MSP First Lt. Mike Shaw reiterated, in an interview with WWJ's Like Sloan. "This is actually a gang violence type of a case; more that than anything else. And I know the other part got most of the notoriety, but this is actually gang violence, is what it is."
While there have been no arrests or charges filed in the case, MSP said the investigation has generated a suspect or suspects. However, further interviews and other investigative work still needs to be completed.
MSP said detectives plan on wrapping up this investigation and submitting a report to the prosecutor's office within the next month.
As the investigation continues, anyone who has information about this case is asked to call 855.MICH-TIP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK=UP (800-773-2587). Anonymous tips can also be submitted online at this link.