Shyheim Franklin, 36, the Wu-Tang Affiliate rapper who is also known as Manchild, Golden Hands, Little Shyheim and The Rugged Child, recently surrendered himself to police on Wednesday in relationship to an early New Year’s Day crash which killed Felipe Avila of Staten Island, police sources
Shyheim is facing a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, a class D felony. said.
According to SiLive, On that morning, Mr. Avila was headed to work at the Rosamaria Bakery on Vreeland Avenue in Port Richmond, driving a black 1996 Toyota Celica on Lafayette Avenue, Richmond Terrace-bound. Franklin, was driving east on Cassidy Place in a borrowed 2003 Volvo S80 which belonged to a friend, sources said.
Police sources also allege Franklin not only blew through a visible stop sign and slammed into Avila’s car, but also hit a parked Dodge Ram before escaping the Volvo and running from the scene of the accident by foot. Franklin is said to have left blood in the Volvo and on the driver’s side airbag.
Out on $10,000 bail at the time of the crash, Shyheim is no stranger to the courts and long arm of the law, with his most recent run in occurring this past April with an arrest on gun and drug possession charges.
Making cameo appearances in late 90’s films such as In Too Deep, and Preacher’s Wife, Shyheim had an early career that began at 14 with the release of “On and On” in 1993 which rose to #7 on the R&B Billboard charts. Since that time, he has released five solo albums, and has performed with Big Scoob, 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., and Big Daddy Kane in 1995 during an infamous freestyle cipher at Madison Square Garden.
Since his recent run-ins with the law, Shyheim has posted YouTube videos seeking financial support for legal defense to “have a fair shot in court”. Watch his video here.
Shyheim was born and raised in Staten Island and is the cousin of Ghostface Killah.
