A Henrico County judge Thursday scheduled a two-day trial in June for an aspiring rap star who, according to a prosecutor, apparently believed that he had to sacrifice his friend to reach stardom.
Henrico Circuit Judge L.A. Harris Jr. denied bond Thursday for Wafeeq Sabir El-Amin, 27, after Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas L. Johnson described El-Amin as a danger to the public and a man who was so overcome with marijuana when questioned by detectives that he could not remember the events of the month in which he committed the alleged crime.
"You are my sacrifice," Johnson quoted El-Amin as saying before he allegedly fired a shot toward his friend's head inside a Henrico home that was to become a music studio.
El-Amin is listed in state records as the registered agent of Break Bread Inc., located in the 1000 block of Athens Avenue just north of Brook and Parham roads.
According to a search warrant, the shooting at the now-abandoned dwelling the night of Dec. 26 occurred after prolonged marijuana use. The victim awoke from a drowsy sleep to see El-Amin pointing a gun at his head and saying he needed to be sacrificed, according to the search warrant.
The bullet ricocheted off the victim's hand sending bone and skin fragments into his eye, according to the warrant, but the victim was able to get hold of the gun and shoot El-Amin in the stomach before he ran off.
The victim has not been charged.
Johnson said in court Thursday that the trial will delve into the hip-hop music culture and the notion that a secret society called the Illuminati has control over the success of some performers.
It was the belief that a sacrifice had to occur in order to join the Illuminati that allegedly incited El-Amin, Johnson said. Investigators recovered more than a pound of marijuana from the Athens Avenue home, according to the search warrant, as well as literature dealing with the Illuminati and its alleged connection to the music industry.
Harris, in denying bond for El-Amin, who waved happily to family members in the courtroom Thursday, said he was concerned about Johnson's representations that El-Amin claimed no knowledge of what occurred in December because of the amount of marijuana he had smoked.
Johnson said in court that a book about the role of the Illuminati in hip-hop music and especially in the career of rap star 50 Cent was an obsession for El-Amin.
El-Amin, who has a South Richmond address and no prior criminal record, is charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, possession of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He was indicted by a grand jury earlier this year.
Harris set the trial for June 26 and 27.
bmckelway@timesdispatch.com
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