Monnie Price Jr., a local rapper from Oakland, California, tragically lost his life on October 27, 2021, in a shooting incident on Interstate 580. The incident occurred during the evening rush hour near the 98th Avenue on-ramp. Price, who performed under the stage name Lil Monnie23, was ambushed and shot with a .223-style rifle while driving his white Chevrolet sedan. Despite being shot, he managed to continue driving until he reached the MacArthur Boulevard off-ramp, where he succumbed to his injuries. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) found rifle casings at the scene, but initially, no arrests were made, and the motive behind the shooting remained unclear.
The investigation into Monnie Price Jr.'s death revealed that the shooting was the result of an ongoing feud between Price and another local rapper, Larry Coney. The two had been involved in a dispute that escalated over time, with both artists releasing songs targeting each other. On the day of the incident, Coney, driving a gold Mercedes, pursued Price and ultimately ambushed him on the freeway. The CHP's investigation indicated that Coney had been planning the attack for weeks, motivated by a desire for notoriety.
In February 2022, Larry Coney was arrested and charged with murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle. However, in a plea deal, Coney later pleaded no contest to manslaughter, and the murder charge was dropped. He was sentenced to six years in state prison, with credit for the time he had already spent in custody. The plea deal and subsequent sentencing brought some closure to the case, but the Price family continued to grapple with the loss of Monnie Jr., who was the second son of Rev. Ramon Price Sr. to die by gun violence.
