Murder suspect rapped about 2018 Bakersfield homicide: docs
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The music video opens with a phone call.
“It’s a go,” a man says, and the call’s recipient, Christopher Nathaniel Kenney, responds, “Yeah, alright.”
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In the next scene, Kenney rounds a corner and opens fire on a man in a parking lot. The victim collapses and the scene cuts to black.
Next, Kenney meets a couple buddies in a garage. Handshakes are exchanged; one of his friends drapes a chain around his neck.
Soon after, the bass kicks in and Kenney, who goes by the name “Baby Coke” begins rapping the lyrics to “Fonk Season.” There’s talk of “headhunting” and a “murder mission,” of chasing down someone to watch them die.
It’s not a unique story; for decades, gangster rap has included tales of slinging drugs and killing rivals, braggadocio intended to enhance street cred and increase sales.
But authorities suspect Kenney’s tale is based in fact.
Kenney, 25, is charged with murder and four counts of attempted murder in a shooting that occurred in 2018, killing rival gang member Jeremy Charles Littlejohn and wounding four others, according to court documents. Charges were brought earlier this year.
Kenney’s DNA was found on shell casings at the scene, documents said. The victims were hit outside an open garage on Chandler Court, south of Wilson Avenue and west of Wible Road.
Within months of the slaying, the “Fonk Season” video, the first released by Kenney after the shooting, was posted on YouTube.
Kenney appears in the video with two other Eastside Crips whose names are redacted from the documents.
“The video starts with a skit which depicts Kenney sneaking up to a subject in an apartment complex before shooting and killing him,” a Bakersfield police investigator wrote in the documents. “The depicted victim in the music video bears resemblance to (the name is redacted, but apparently Littlejohn) by way of race and overall build and body type.”
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Kenney is rewarded with cash and jewelry, the investigator wrote, noting the rest of the video takes place in an open garage.
“Knowing the fact patterns of the . . . homicide, especially the the fact that he was murdered outside of an open garage in an apartment complex during nighttime hours, I believe this video is a re-enactment of the . . . homicide,” the investigator wrote.
One person told police Kenney knew ahead of time where Littlejohn would be. He said Kenney afterward bragged about the killing because he “wanted recognition” in the gang, according to the documents.
At least one other person is believed involved.
Kenney has been at large for months. Inmate records did not show him in custody as of Monday afternoon.
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