Man gets 30 years in prison in murder of Houston rapper 'Mr. 3-2'
HOUSTON, Texas -- A man convicted of murdering a prominent Houston rapper and lyricist was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday.
Vincent Depaul Stredic, 40, has been on trial for the last six days for the death of 44-year-old Christopher Barriere.
Barriere was killed in a shooting in the parking lot of a southwest Houston gas station located at 6610 West Sam Houston Parkway South in November 2016.
Stredic and Barriere were friends.
Testimony showed that on the night of the shooting, they drove to the gas station with two other men.
Stredic and the men got into an argument that ended with him pulling a shotgun from the trunk of his car and fatally shooting Barriere in the side of the head. Barriere, known as Mr. 3-2, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Barriere was a member of Houston's Screwed Up Click. While signed to Rap-A-Lot Records he was involved with three groups: The Convicts, Southside Playaz and Blac Monks, and released one solo album. He has collaborated on tracks with Snoop Dogg, UGK, Scarface, 8 Ball & MJG, South Park Mexican & Too $hort.
Barriere's friends and family attended each day of the trial, which ended Wednesday.
His sister testified that Barriere was a father figure to her children, took care of them when they would come home from school and always supported them.
"This is the kind of senseless violence that troubles so many people within our community," Assistant District Attorney Dave Brucker said. "Hopefully the jury's verdict will give some measure of closure to Christopher's family, friends, and fans, who loved him so much."
Barriere's nickname, Mr. 3-2, comes from his first name starting with the third letter of the alphabet and his last name with the second letter.
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