OAKLAND — He was only arrested six months ago, but now the local rapper known as ChaiBenjii4 appears poised to largely beat the allegations against him in his murder case, court records show.
ChaiBenjii4, whose real name is Michai Adams, pleaded no contest to a single gun charge. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors are expected to dismiss murder and assault charges against Adams at his sentencing hearing on Jan. 6, 2026.
Adams was charged with murdering 50-year-old Lamar Payne in a wild, chaotic shootout involving multiple gunman, including one bystander who heard the shots and simply brandished his gun. Prosecutors alleged that Adams was one of the involved parties, and that Payne was killed during an exchange of gunfire between three people.
Adams, 22, remains at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin for now. He is expected to formally be sentenced to credit for time served and released in January, records show.
Payne was killed Sept. 7, 2024, outside a liquor store near E Street and 105th Avenue, authorities said.
The other man charged with murder, Keyante Reed, 19, also appeared poised to beat the charges. But there was a bit of a hiccup — he was released by a judge after arguing self-defense, only to catch another murder charge in Lathrop. Now Reed is a fugitive, with a pending murder case in San Joaquin County and an arrest warrant for missing his court date in Oakland, records show.
Reed’s lawyer argued that Payne, who was intoxicated, pulled a gun and attempted to rob Reed’s friend, then ended up in a shootout involving Reed, Payne, and Adams. Another man, 22-year-old Tamarkus Killensworth, was later arrested for allegedly pulling a gun during the incident, but didn’t fire, according to police.
As a rapper, Adams has a small but successful song catalog. His musical YouTube channel has garnered more than 1.6 million views, despite Adams only putting out five songs on it, all released in 2021.
Authorities said that Adams and Killensworth are part of the Baby Benji Gang, and that Killensworth was investigated for a string of robberies with another gang member last year. Identifying Killensworth from surveillance footage of the shootout was easier because he has a distinct feature — a right hand that is missing fingers, according to police.
Before he allegedly shot and killed a man in Lathrop, Reed was involved in another shootout at the same liquor store where Payne was killed, almost a year to the day after the homicide. In that incident, he was arrested for allegedly possessing a gun but not charged, court records show. Ten days after that, authorities claim that Reed killed Markesse Owens in Lathrop.