Woman, 29, ‘seeking to avenge her boyfriend’s road-rage killing’ is charged with mistaken identity murder of California rapper Cutty Banks
- Amanda Young charged with conspiracy and murder in December 2020 shooting death of rapper Cutty Banks, born Melota Lasi
- Two wees prior, police arrested Isaiah Reupena, 34, on a charge of homicide in Oklahoma
- Police say Young conducted a ‘street investigation’ into road-rage killing of her boyfriend, Lewis Reupena, and wrongly identified Lasi as the killer
- Young then allegedly convinced Lewis’ brother, Isaiah, that Lasi was the culprit, prompting him to shoot and kill him outside a Well Fargo bank
- Police say California Highway Patrol investigated Lewis’ killing and confirmed Lasi was not involved
A woman has been charged in connection with a twisted revenge killing plot that resulted in the death of California rapper Cutty Banks, whom police say the suspect wrongly identified as the person who shot dead her boyfriend during a road-rage incident.
Amanda Young, 29, was arrested last week in Torrence, California, on charges of conspiracy and murder for the December 2020 shooting death of San Mateo-based rapper Melota Lasi, 30, better known by his stage name, Cutty Banks.
Isaiah Reupena, 34, the brother of Young’s late boyfriend, was arrested in Oklahoma earlier this month on a homicide charge for allegedly firing the shots that killed Lasi.
Isaiah Reupena, 34, is pictured left being arrested in Oklahoma on April 1 for the December 2020 mistaken identity revenge murder of California rapper Cutty Banks (right). Two weeks later, police in Torrence, California, arrested Amanda Young in connection with the killing
Investigators say Reupena and Young wrongly believed that Cutty Banks was responsible for the road-rage killing of Lewis Reupena (pictured), who was Young’s long-time boyfriend
According to the San Mateo Police Department, the saga began unfolding on August 29, 2020, when Lewis Reupena, a 27-year-old local musician known as ‘Looce,’ was shot dead in a road-rage incident on 405 Freeway in Southern California.
After Reupena’s death, police say his girlfriend teamed up with his family and friends and launched a ‘street investigation,’ which wrongly concluded that Lasi was the culprit.
Prosecutors said Young and Lewis’ family thought that he had been targeted over a confrontation outside a marijuana dispensary in Compton, California.
‘The California Highway Patrol (CHP) investigated Lewis’s homicide and confirmed Lasi was not involved,’ police said in a press release announcing Young’s arrest.
According to investigators, Young then convinced Isaiah Reupena of Lasi’s guilt, which prompted him to drive to San Mateo and confront the rapper.
At around 9.25pm on December 19, Isaiah allegedly cornered Lasi in the parking lot of a Wells Fargo bank on West Hillsdale Boulevard and fired at least five shots at him, before fleeing in a white Mercedes. The rapper was pronounced dead at the scene.
Isaiah briefly returned to Southern California and subsequently moved to Blanchard, Oklahoma, where he was taken into custody before dawn on April 1 following a three-month investigation. He is currently awaiting extradition back to California to face a charge of homicide.
His defense attorney told The Oklahoman: ‘There is considerable doubt that he committed the crime.’
Young, who had moved to Oklahoma with the Reupenas for a short time after Lasi’s murder, returned to Southern California, where she was arrested on April 15.
She is being held in the San Mateo County Jail without bond pending her next court appearance, which is scheduled for May 10.
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