Silentó Pleads Guilty to Cousin’s Death, Gets 30-Year Prison Sentence

Silentó Pleads Guilty to Cousin's Death, Gets 30-Year Prison Sentence

Silentó, whose real name is Richard Lamar Hawk, just pleaded guilty but mentally ill to shooting and killing his cousin in DeKalb County, Georgia. And no—this isn’t some messy online rumor. This came straight from the courtroom on Tuesday, June 11, as confirmed by WALB News.

The charge? Voluntary manslaughter, not murder. Why? Because the judge accepted that Hawk was suffering from serious mental illness at the time of the crime. A murder charge was dropped as part of the plea deal, according to WALB News.

Back in January 2021, Frederick Rooks III, 34, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds on a quiet residential street near Decatur. Cops responded to a 911 call and found him lying in the roadway. DeKalb County Police said the scene looked like something out of a movie—shell casings everywhere, and surveillance footage showing Hawk’s car fleeing the area.

It didn’t take long to track him down. Officers used surveillance video and Hawk’s GPS data to place him at the scene. Forensics matched bullets to a weapon recovered later. The trail was tight—and hard to deny. So in court this week, Hawk admitted it.

But his lawyers made it clear: he wasn’t in his right mind. The court agreed, accepting a “guilty but mentally ill” plea. That means he’ll get psychiatric care while serving time.

At sentencing, Hawk didn’t say much. According to WALB News, the courtroom stayed mostly quiet, aside from a few emotional statements from the victim’s family, who questioned why the charge was downgraded at all.

Silentó shot to fame in 2015 with Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)—a dance track that took over YouTube and school assemblies everywhere. But fame faded fast, and Hawk’s life spiraled.

By 2020, he was in and out of the headlines for all the wrong reasons: speeding 143 mph, walking into homes with a machete, public meltdowns. His team blamed it on mental illness then too.

Now, with a three-decade sentence locked in, the TikTok dance that made him famous feels like a distant echo. No flashy lawyer tricks. No celebrity loopholes. Just a tragic end to what could’ve been a longer, brighter career.