Rapper Mac Critter, who is signed to Gucci Mane’s label 1017 Records, has been charged with first-degree murder.
The Memphis rapper, whose real name is Daniel Bates, 25, is currently in police custody on murder charges in relation to the killing of Markeith Taylor. According to Fox13 Memphis, Taylor was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds on December 21, 2022, in a vacant parking lot off Wells Avenue in the city.
The arrest affidavit states that Bates pulled up in the parking lot with three other men in an SUV on the day of the murder. The rapper then told Taylor to get out of the vehicle as the four men awaited him in the vacant lot. According to court documents, one of the men, Gary Taylor, reportedly shot the victim several times, even while he was on the ground. The four men, whom police say are members of a gang, then scampered back into the SUV and sped off.
An eyewitness later identified Daniel Bates as the person who told Taylor to get out of the SUV and join his group in the vacant lot. All four men reportedly pulled guns on Markeith Taylor before Gary Taylor started firing at the victim. Gary, 26, also called Lil Gary in court docs, was also identified by the witness as the shooter. The witness also identified 27-year-old Danterio Owens as one of the men standing over the victim while holding a gun.
Daniel Bates, Gary Taylor, and Daniel Bates were all arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Taylor was released from custody in error, the judge says, but was later rearrested at his bond hearing.
Gucci Mane signed Bates, known by his rap name Mac Critter, to his 1017 label in October last year. The Atlanta rapper has not yet reacted to another one of his artists facing lengthy prison sentences for murder.
