Lil Chief Dinero has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a home invasion and aggravated robbery incident on Jan. 10 in East Urbana.
Chief Dinero, 20, and an accomplice, Deon Bevely, 21, were accused of entering a home and forcing a family into one room, according to the News-Gazette.
One of the victims was home with his girlfriend and 2-year-old son when Dinero and Beverly appeared at their bedroom door.
He was forced to open a safe, then hit in the head with a pistol after showing them it was empty.
A 16-year-old boy was threatened and put in a bedroom while a 19-year-old girl was dragged by the hair into the bedroom and threatened.
The man was able to escape the house and track down police for help.
Chief Dinero and Bevely fled the house with $950, two cell phones, a video surveillance system, a tablet and identification.
The man knew Chief Dinero from letting him stay at the house prior to the incident.
U.S. marshals arrested Dinero in Chicago on Tuesday, March 2, and held him on $250,000 bond.
Before handing down her sentence, Judge Heidi Ladd commended Dinero on completing high school and a semester of college but called his behavior “egregious.”
Lil Chief Dinero pleaded guilty in June to aggravated robbery. In exchange for his plea, Assistant State’s Attorney Matt Banach dismissed other more serious charges of home invasion and armed robbery.
Dinero’s charges carried a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Bro he got the sentence down from like 40 years down to 7. https://t.co/VigwsZdLpu
— REAL (GMEBE) PAGE (@GMEBE100) August 22, 2016
Banach wanted an 8 1/2 year term for Dinero and went as far as showing one of his music videos for the judge.
Dinero’s attorney, Leroy Cross, objected, calling the video “an art form.”
“It’s designed to create the impression the defendant was a bad man engaged in bad things,” he said.
Ladd allowed the video to be played, saying she was “not going to be swept away by the contents.”
Twenty people, including family and friends, were present for Dinero in court. Dinero’s grandmother testified on his behalf, saying, “This is not the person he was raised to be,” adding she was “surprised and shocked” to hear about the crime.
Dinero apologized to the judge for his crime, saying he “was in a negative mood” a month before the robbery.
He felt he should have more, and that “all my years of trying to do right seemed meaningless.”
“I took the wrong path and made a serious mistake,” he said, apologizing to the victims and his family.
Beverly pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.
The GMEBE camp will be holding it down for their brother until his release.
JP Armani wrote on Twitter, “My Boy HardBody He Gone Knock Dat S— Out Nd We Gone B @ TheTop Waitin On Em.”
My Boy HardBody He Gone Knock Dat S— Out Nd We Gone B @ TheTop Waitin On Em ? #GMEBE4L ???? #FreeLilChiefDinero pic.twitter.com/5LBwIoalmo
— JP ARMANI (@GMEBE_Jp) August 21, 2016
Dinero may be on lockdown, but his music isn’t. Check out Dinero’s hit songs below:
