Man wanted in Florida rapper’s death arrested in Clayton County

Johnathon Lemorris Swift

Credit: Clayton County Sheriff's Office

Credit: Clayton County Sheriff's Office

Johnathon Lemorris Swift

A man wanted in the shooting death of a rising Florida rapper was arrested Saturday morning in Clayton County, authorities said.

Johnathon Lemorris Swift, 27, was sitting in a vehicle when deputies tracked him to a trailer park off Ga. 85, according to the Clayton County sheriff’s office. He got out of the car, took off running and was quickly caught, the agency said.

Swift was wanted on charges of murder and armed robbery in the April  6, 2018, death of rapper Billion Dollar BD, whose real name is Branden Denson. Denson was shot three times in the back as he sat in the driver's seat of a Jeep Wrangler in the parking lot of a Columbus Pizza Hut.

Before leaving his parents' home that night, he filled a suitcase with about 15 pounds of marijuana and told his father he was meeting a man at the pizza joint, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported.

According to the Clayton County agency, Swift allegedly planned to rob Denson of the suitcase and its contents. The suitcase has never been found.

He is one of five men facing charges in connection with Denson's death, including Tommie Jamal Mullins, an aspiring rap artist, who Columbus police said set up the deadly robbery, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.

Denson garnered attention for his 2017 single “Power,” produced by Zaytoven, a Grammy-winning producer from Atlanta who has worked with Usher and Future.

Swift was being held in the Clayton County Jail on Monday and is expected to be taken back to Columbus to face charges.

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