Detroit rapper Dex Osama, whose legal name was Byron Cox, died on September 7, 2015, after being shot outside the Crazy Horse strip club on Michigan Avenue in Detroit. He was 22. Two men, Otis Davis and Dietrick Odums, were charged in his killing and ordered to stand trial, even after a preliminary hearing established that Cox himself fired the first shots that night.1Detroit Free Press. Rapper Dex Osama Fatal Shooting
What Happened Outside the Crazy Horse
The shooting took place around 1:30 a.m. on Labor Day, September 7, 2015, at the gentlemen’s club on the 8100 block of Michigan Avenue on Detroit’s southwest side.2The Detroit News. Rapper Dex Osama Strip Club Shooting Cox’s girlfriend, Chantell Sturdivant, was working as a dancer at the club. An argument between two groups of men escalated inside and moved outside the venue, where surveillance footage indicated the shooter had been waiting.3ClickOnDetroit. Detroit Rapper Dex Osama Killed in Shooting Near Detroit Gentlemen’s Club
Cox was struck once in the chest and once in the stomach. Witnesses heard at least seven gunshots, and officers found even more evidence markers at the scene. After being hit, he ran to a nearby gas station seeking help. A witness there, Jay Sareini, tried to apply pressure to his wounds. Officer James Wincek testified that when he arrived, Cox said, “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe” and “I don’t want to die.”1Detroit Free Press. Rapper Dex Osama Fatal Shooting He was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital and pronounced dead.4Vice. Detroit Rapper Dex Osama Killed A second person arrived at a hospital with a gunshot wound from the same incident several hours later.
Who Was Charged
Two men were arrested and held without bond.5USA Today. Rapper Dex Osama Fatal Shooting
- Otis Davis, 46, was charged with open murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and felony firearm.
- Dietrick Odums, 31, was charged with assault with intent to murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and felony firearm.
What the Preliminary Hearing Revealed
At the preliminary examination before 36th District Judge Kenneth King at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in October 2015, surveillance video and testimony established that Cox was the first person to fire a shot, discharging a weapon once inside the club and once outside before Davis fatally shot him.1Detroit Free Press. Rapper Dex Osama Fatal Shooting Footage also showed Cox placing a firearm into a trash can at the gas station after being shot, and police recovered that weapon.6FOX 2 Detroit. Two Headed for Trial in Murder of Up-and-Coming Detroit Rapper
Detroit Police Officer Raymond Diaz testified that investigators collected 25 .40-caliber shell casings from inside and outside the club.5USA Today. Rapper Dex Osama Fatal Shooting A detective read a statement Davis gave to police explaining his decision: “I saw him with the gun in his left hand then he switched it to the right hand. Once he switched from the left hand to the right hand I thought he was about to shoot. So I shot him.”6FOX 2 Detroit. Two Headed for Trial in Murder of Up-and-Coming Detroit Rapper
Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Reynolds argued that when Davis fired, Cox did not pose an imminent threat and did not have a gun in his hand. Reynolds also argued that when Odums fired, Cox was running away and posed no danger.1Detroit Free Press. Rapper Dex Osama Fatal Shooting Davis’s attorney, Todd Perkins, raised self-defense, maintaining that his client believed Cox was armed and about to shoot. Odums’s attorney, Marlon Evans, argued that his client was not shooting at Cox at all and was “merely present at the scene.”7Detroit Free Press. Details of How Rapper Dex Osama Was Killed
Judge King ruled that the surveillance video “speaks for itself” and ordered both Davis and Odums to stand trial on all charges. Arraignment in Wayne County Circuit Court was scheduled for November 6, 2015.1Detroit Free Press. Rapper Dex Osama Fatal Shooting The research file does not report the outcome of the trial itself.
Who Dex Osama Was
Byron O’Shay Cox was born on August 13, 1993.8Legacy.com. Byron Cox Memorial He built a regional following in the Detroit rap scene between 2013 and 2015 with tracks like “Choppa (Freestyle)” and “Death on Me,” plus a verse on the remix of Oba Rowland’s “Lifestyle, Pt. 2.”9AllMusic. Dex Osama In the four months before his death, his SoundCloud tracks had drawn more than 175,000 listens.10Detroit Free Press. Rapper Dex Osama Reportedly Dead in Strip Club Shooting
Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill had signed him to the Dreamchasers label.9AllMusic. Dex Osama According to his videographer Erik Thomas, he had also attracted attention from Nicki Minaj, and Detroit artist DeJ Loaf brought him onstage at the Summer Jamz 18 festival in June 2015.11Billboard. Dex Osama, Detroit Rapper Affiliated With Meek Mill and DeJ Loaf, Dies He was killed four days before the scheduled release of his debut album.12The Oakland Press. Movies: Dex Osama, Ron Wood, Antebellum, No Escape and More A 30-minute documentary, Death on Me: The Story of Dex Osama, premiered on YouTube in September 2020.13Metro Times. New Doc Looks at the Late Detroit Rapper Dex Osama