2 Dublin Residents Arrested In Slaying Of Bay Area Rapper

DUBLIN, CA — Two people were arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Bay Area rapper Lil Yase in Dublin.

Angel D. Butler, 28, and Jovante D. Williams, 28, were taken into custody Tuesday on arrest warrants. They were booked on murder charges in Santa Rita Jail in the killing of Mark Alexander Jr., 26, a rising star in the local rap scene.

Butler and Williams share a home and a child together in Dublin, said Dublin Police Capt. Nate Schmidt.

Butler and Williams remained in custody Wednesday morning. They were booked on felony charges of first-degree murder, and Butler faces an additional charge of conspiracy to commit a crime.

Their arraignments were scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the East County Hall of Justice, jail records showed. The district attorney's office has not filed charges, and the case will be reviewed Thursday, Schmidt said.

Alexander died in an early morning Nov. 28 shooting in the 5100 block of Iron Horse Parkway, a short walk from the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station, police said. The San Francisco native was hospitalized and succumbed to his injuries.

Alexander had a relationship with Butler, Schmidt said. He left a recording studio near San Francisco and drove to Dublin on the night of his death to see her.

Butler and Williams were arrested after an extensive investigation involving a review of electronic data such as cell phones and social media, Schmidt said. The DNA of their child was found on shell casings found at the scene, he said.

Alexander also spoke with police and gave information about the shooting before he died, Schmidt said.

Homicides are unusual in Dublin. Alexander's death was the second in Dublin in 2020 and just the third since 2009.

Tributes to the rapper poured out on social media after his death. His record label, Highway 420, announced the day before his shooting that he planned to release new music.

"We appreciate all the love and support. Yase loved his fans, he worked every day for y’all," the label said on Instagram, with a clip from the music video for his "Top Dog."

Fans called him a legend in the Bay Area's rap scene.