Gunman Suspected of Soulja Slim’s Murder Found Dead

By Lora Neng
WWW.STREETGANGS.COM STAFF WRITER
August 19, 2011

After eluding prosecutors for years, the fight to prove Garelle Smith’s trespasses into murder finally ended last week, but not because a case was built up against the consecutively accused criminal. Smith was found dead on Hamburg Street, New Orleans, Saturday.

In 2003, Garelle Smith was alleged to have been paid $10,000 to fatally shoot rapper Soulja Slim, but without a witness account, the case was dropped. Later that year, police claimed Smith was also the perpetrator behind the killing of Spencer Smith Jr. Again the case was dismissed for a similar lack of witnesses. Time and again he was thrown in jail and let go. One noted conviction he received was for attempted possession of a firearm.

Garelle Smith was found dead of several gunshot wounds blocks from his old home. The death of Soulja Slim, born James Tapp, was believed to be the result of a local record label dispute and is as yet unsolved. Detectives posthumously accused Tapp of murdering Robert Lee Paige Jr.

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