Young Vallejo rapper is slain
Lay Low, 18, gunned down outside party
By J.M. BROWN/Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched: 08/19/2007 07:58:48 AM PDT
Burrow: Planned to release his second CD to mark his 19th birthday in October. An 18-year-old Vallejo rap artist was gunned down late Friday night, marking the city's third shooting death in 10 days.
Arlay Burrow III, better known by his rap name, Lay Low, died at Kaiser hospital, where friends took him after the 11 p.m. shooting in North Vallejo, authorities said Saturday.
No arrests were immediately made, and detectives were investigating possible motives, Lt. Lori Lee said. She said it was not clear if the shooting was connected to a string of other slayings since late July.
Family members gathered Saturday in mourning to remember the Vallejo High School graduate and Solano College student who intended to release his second CD, "The D. Boy Chronicles," in October to mark his 19th birthday.
Relatives portrayed Burrow as a generous, gifted recording artist who stayed out of trouble. They said they had no idea what happened after he left Friday to attend a party, and knew of no one who wanted to hurt him.
"We don't know," father Arlay Burrow Jr. said. "These are the answers we're looking for."
Police were trying to calm a large house party in the 100 block of Stephanie Court late Friday when they heard shots fired nearby. Burrow's parents said they did not know if he had attended the
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
party.
Besides his parents, 14-year-old brother and other relatives, Burrow leaves behind a 16-month-old daughter, "who he cherished" said mother Carla Burrow, who marked her 40th birthday Saturday.
"You would see him leave in a business suit and tie to work at Macy's," the mother said. "He didn't go to parties. He just happened to go this time."
Burrow worked at the department store in Walnut Creek, but was focused on building his burgeoning music career, his family said. His musical influences included 50 Cent, Young Jezzy and Jay-Z, according to his MySpace page.
Relatives described him as an entrepreneur who cut his first CD at 15.
"When he was little, he used to come to my house and ask, 'Grandma, do you have any extra work I could do to make extra money,' " grandmother Asenith Toliver said. Holding back tears, she remembered how he made itemized lists of chores with corresponding prices, like $10 for vacuuming. "I would give him $50," she said with a smile.
Relatives said they did not know what Burrows' friend, who accompanied him Friday, knew about the shooting. The exact location of the incident was also unclear, but detectives were seen interviewing Stephanie Court residents Saturday.
Jeremy Huinac, a Stephanie Court resident, said he heard shots fired to the north of his house after seeing numerous young people walking up and down the street to attend a party at the end of the block.
Other than having his truck stolen once, he said, there had not been a serious incident in the neighborhood in the nearly four years he's lived there. But if problems persist, he said, he would move.
"If I live with this every day, I prefer to be out of here," he said.
Police ask anyone with information about the Burrow shooting to call detectives Brent Pucci or Sharon Fong at 648-4524.
The shooting marked the 12th homicide in Vallejo this year, more than twice last year's total.
Detectives are still looking for 20-year-old Israel Rivera Balderas in connection with the Aug. 12 shooting of Jose Romo. Police say the 19-year-old Romo was shot by alleged gang members who mistakenly identified him as a rival because he was with someone wearing a red cap.
Detectives are also still investigating the Aug. 8 shooting of 33-year-old Daniel Carver in the 300 block of Idora Avenue.
SOURCE:
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_6664247
