In the early hours of May 23, 2005, the bodies of 24-year-old Black male Anthony "Fat Tone" Watkins and his friend, 22-year-old Jermaine "Cowboy" Akins, were discovered at a construction site on the outskirts of Las Vegas. A security guard patrolling the Southern Highlands area found Watkins inside a car and Akins on the ground outside; both had been shot multiple times with an assault-style rifle.
The discovery marked a brutal end to what authorities would describe as a violent chapter in a rap feud spanning from the Midwest to the West Coast.
The killings were believed to be in retaliation for the November 2004 murder of Bay Area rapper Andre "Mac Dre" Hicks in Kansas City, Missouri. Though law enforcement in Kansas City had apparently cleared Watkins of involvement in Mac Dre's death, rumors persisted within the rap community that he was responsible. Watkins, a Kansas City rapper himself, had a reputation that intertwined with the gangster life his lyrics often depicted. This reputation, and the persistent rumors, followed him to Las Vegas, where he was allegedly lured under the pretense of a meeting with music executives associated with Snoop Dogg.
Investigators quickly focused on Andre "Mac Minister" Dow, a San Francisco rapper and promoter, and his associate, Jason "Corleone" Mathis. Surveillance footage from the MGM Grand hotel captured Watkins and Akins leaving with Dow shortly before the estimated time of their deaths. The investigation painted a picture of a premeditated plot where Dow and Mathis lured the victims to their deaths. In the days following the murders, a white Pontiac Sunfire seen speeding from the scene was found burned in Vallejo, California. This car was linked to Lee Danae Laursen, Mathis's girlfriend, who was believed to have witnessed the murders.
Following the killings, Andre Dow became a fugitive, leading to a 10-month nationwide manhunt that was featured on "America's Most Wanted." The FBI apprehended him in a San Francisco apartment on March 2, 2006. Jason Mathis was arrested earlier, in August 2005, and according to a police report, he confessed to the killings, citing revenge for Mac Dre's murder as the motive. The case against the two men was further complicated by another homicide; in November 2005, potential witness Lee Danae Laursen was found shot to death in Fairfield, California, just two days after Dow and Mathis were indicted for the Las Vegas murders.
In 2008, both Andre Dow and Jason Mathis were convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. The jury found that they had orchestrated the murders as retribution in the ongoing rap feud. Both men were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Dow has maintained his innocence, claiming he and Watkins were friends and business partners.
