Recording Artist Silento Sentenced to 30 Years in 2021 Fatal Shooting of Cousin

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced that Ricky Lamar Hawk, 27, known professionally as “Silento,” has pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the 2021 shooting death of his cousin, Frederick Rooks III, 34. Hawk pleaded to charges of Voluntary Manslaughter, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime, and Concealing the Death of Another.

The DeKalb County Police Department responded to the intersection of Deep Shoals Circle and Corners Crossing in Panthersville on January 21, 2021, around 3:37 a.m., after reports of gunfire. Officers located Rooks suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. EMS confirmed his death at the scene, and investigators recovered ten bullet casings nearby.

Surveillance footage showed a white BMW SUV fleeing the scene shortly after the shooting. Investigators learned that Hawk had picked up Rooks earlier that night in a white BMW SUV. FLOCK camera data confirmed the vehicle’s presence in the area around the time of the shooting.

Hawk was arrested on February 1, 2021, and admitted to the shooting during an interview. Ballistics testing matched the shell casings to a gun in Hawk’s possession. GPS data also placed Hawk’s SUV at the crime scene.

Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson sentenced Hawk to 30 years in prison. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Helen Pott of the Homicide and Gangs Unit, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Thomas Williams, Investigator Curtis Averhart, and Victim Advocate Kaysha Albritton. Detective B.R. Smith led the initial investigation.