Oakland rapper arrested on murder charge after two months on the lam

OAKLAND — Police in Oakland had been searching for a local rapper wanted on a murder charge for the past two months, but when they found him it appeared that he’d never left town.

Michai Adams, 21, was arrested June 13 during a traffic stop near Aspire Berkley Academy Elementary School. Police ran his name and realized he was wanted for an alleged murder, but they also found a gun in the car, according to court records.

The result is that Adams, who is being held without bail, picked up another felony gun charge on top of similar charges for allegedly possessing guns and ammunition used in the homicide. He is being accused of aiding in the killing of 50-year-old Lamar Payne, who was gunned down last Sept. 7, during a wild shootout between at least three gunmen outside a liquor store near E Street and 105th Avenue, court records show.

In the rap world, Adams is known as ChaiBenjii4. His musical YouTube channel has garnered more than 1.6 million views, despite Adams only putting out five songs on it, all released in 2021. Adams also has two felony convictions since 2021, for evading police and assault with a deadly weapon, which make it illegal for him to have guns, records show.

Oakland police said they have surveillance footage identifying Adams as one of three gunmen involved in the shootout. Another, Keyante Reed, 18, was charged with murder but was released from jail after his attorney argued that he was a promising college student with a good argument for self defense.

The third suspect, identified in court records as Tamarkus Killensworth, 21, of Berkeley, is in jail facing four separate felony cases, which include charges of robbery, gun possession by a felon, carrying a loaded gun in public, and unlawful firearm activity, according to jail records. Unlike Reed and Adams, though, Killensworth has not been charged with killing anyone.

Authorities said that Killensworth and Adams are part of the Baby Benji Gang, and that Killensworth was investigated for a string of robberies with another gang member last year. Identifying Killensworth from surveillance footage of the shootout was easier because he has a distinct feature — a right hand that is missing fingers, according to police.

Payne was killed after at least two gunmen allegedly began shooting at someone who returned fire. A customer inside the store heard the commotion, pulled a gun, and rushed outside, but never fired his pistol, authorities said at the time.

Another man who was driving by the area suffered minor injuries when bullets struck his vehicle and caused broken glass to cut his face, police said.

Reed — who police claim was known to sell marijuana outside the store — was later identified by authorities as the man who returned fire at the two gunmen. Reed was arrested and charged with murder last year. At a preliminary hearing in April, he was held to answer on the murder charge.

But Reed faced the preliminary hearing as a free man. Last January, his attorney convinced Judge Elena Condes to release him from jail, citing Reed’s enrollment in Laney College and the fact that he has been shot twice in Oakland since moving there from Las Vegas at 16. Reed turned 18 just six weeks before the fatal shootout.