D. Rose, Chicago Rapper, Sentenced to 40 Years for Murder

Ahbir Sardin, the Chicago figure known as D.Rose and an associate of drill rappers Chief Keef, Lil Durk, and Lil Reese, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the first-degree murder of 14-year-old Venzel Richardson, shot dead in a February 2014 drive-by on the city’s South Side.¹ Sardin is not himself a recording artist. He was named in lyrics by rappers in Chief Keef’s orbit and traveled in the same crew, which is how the “Chicago rapper” shorthand attached to him in press coverage.²

The 2014 Killing of Venzel Richardson

On the evening of February 12, 2014, Venzel Richardson was walking with friends near the 6100 block of South Vernon Avenue in Woodlawn after leaving a convenience store at 61st Street and King Drive.² A white minivan stopped in the street, the sliding door opened, and multiple shots were fired at the group. Richardson was struck four times, including once in the back of the head, and collapsed in a nearby gangway. He was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m.³

Richardson was a freshman at Dunbar Vocational Career Academy who participated in ROTC, mentored younger students, and played football. His father, Clifford Williams, publicly disputed police descriptions of the shooting as gang-related and demanded authorities retract the label, saying his son was not in a gang.⁴ His mother, Laveta Richardson, told reporters: “My baby is gone because people just don’t have no remorse and no feeling. My home will never be the same again.”¹

Who D.Rose Is

Sardin was 17 at the time of the shooting. Prosecutors identified him as a member of the Black Disciples street gang, and a police report noted a “600” tattoo on his wrist, a reference sometimes associated with that gang.⁵ His street name appeared in lyrics by Chief Keef, Cdai (Courtney Ealy), and RondoNumbaNine (Clint Massey), and he was described as part of a crew that also included Lil Durk and Lil Reese.²

Before his arrest in the Richardson case, Sardin had been accused on social media of involvement in the 2012 killing of rival rapper Joseph “Lil JoJo” Coleman, who had been feuding with Chief Keef’s circle. The owner of the Facebook page where the accusation appeared later said the account had been hacked. Sardin was never charged in Coleman’s death.⁶

The Case Against Him

Sardin was arrested roughly six weeks after the shooting, charged as an adult with first-degree murder, and held on $1 million bail.⁵ A traffic stop the day before the murder became central to the investigation. On February 11, 2014, Officer Robert Cummings pulled over a double-parked white Dodge Caravan carrying Sardin, Clint Massey, and Courtney Ealy, and completed contact cards for all three. Witnesses later identified the same type of van as the one used in the drive-by.⁷

At the September 2016 trial in Cook County, prosecutors presented eyewitness testimony, surveillance video, and ballistic evidence. Eight 9-millimeter Luger cartridge cases recovered from the scene had been fired from the same weapon. Three eyewitnesses who had been walking with Richardson recanted or softened their identifications on the stand, but prosecutors introduced their earlier videotaped statements and grand jury testimony naming Sardin as the shooter.⁸ One witness and his mother told a judge he feared for his life. Another fled the state and was eventually arrested in Wisconsin on a warrant for failing to appear before the grand jury.⁷

The trial judge drew careful lines around Sardin’s rap-world ties. The defense successfully kept gang membership evidence out, and the court ruled that witnesses could say they recognized Sardin from a music video but could not mention Chief Keef by name, citing the rapper’s widely reported connections to gang violence.⁷ Prosecutors were allowed to introduce the names and street names of Massey and Ealy because of their presence in the van the day before.

Conviction, Sentence, and Appeal

The jury returned a first-degree murder verdict on September 15, 2016.³¹⁹

Sardin appealed to the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, arguing the trial court should not have let prosecutors introduce the names and nicknames of Massey and Ealy, and that a detective’s testimony improperly implied an out-of-court identification by a witness’s mother. On September 30, 2019, the appellate court rejected both arguments and affirmed the conviction and 40-year sentence, finding that the evidence about Massey and Ealy was relevant to explaining the police investigation and vehicle identification.⁷

Where He Is Now

Sardin is incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center, a maximum-security adult male prison in Chester in southern Illinois. According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, his projected parole date is April 8, 2054, and his projected discharge date is April 8, 2057. He would be 57 at the earliest possible release.¹⁰

Both of the men stopped with Sardin in the van the day before the Richardson shooting are also serving decades for murder in an unrelated case. Courtney Ealy (Cdai) received 38 years and Clint Massey (RondoNumbaNine) received 39 years for the February 22, 2014 shooting of 28-year-old livery driver Javan Boyd at the Wentworth Gardens housing project.¹¹¹² Court records and witness testimony placed Sardin at the scene of that killing as well, though he was not charged in the Boyd case.¹³

1
Chicago Tribune. 40 Years in Prison for 2014 Murder of Dunbar High Freshman
2
NBC Chicago. Alleged Gang Member D.Rose Gets 40 Years for Teen’s Murder
3
Chicago Sun-Times. Alleged Gang Member D.Rose Guilty of Murdering 14-Year-Old
4
WGN-TV. Boy, 14, Killed in Drive-By Shooting on South Side
5
DNAinfo Chicago. Teen Charged in Woodlawn Shooting That Killed 14-Year-Old Boy
6
CBS Chicago. Alleged Gang Member D.Rose Guilty of Murdering 14-Year-Old
7
Appellate Court of Illinois. People v. Sardin, 2019 IL App (1st) 170544
8
FindLaw. People v. Sardin, 2019 IL App (1st) 170544
9
DNAinfo Chicago. Ahbir Sardin Gets 40 Years in Prison
10
Illinois Department of Corrections. IDOC Inmate Search – Ahbir Sardin
11
Chicago Tribune. Man Gets 38 Years in 2014 Slaying of Livery Driver
12
XXL Magazine. RondoNumbaNine Sentenced to 39 Years for Murder
13
Appellate Court of Illinois. People v. Massey, 2023 IL App (1st) 220123