Cuban rapper Chocolate MC hung his head in shame as he was found guilty of soliciting a murder-for-hire plot against a man accused of killing his friend.
The rapper, real name Yosvanis Sierra Hernández, grew emotional in court on Wednesday as he was quickly found guilty of ordering a hit on prison inmate Damián Valdés Galloso.
Galloso is facing charges for killing singer El Taiger, real name José Manuel Carbajal Zaldívar, a close friend of Hernandez, in an October 2024 shooting.
After Galloso was arrested for the shooting, Hernandez took to social media to solicit a hit on the suspect behind bars, and footage of a video he shared to Instagram was played in court.
The clip showed Hernandez offering a bounty of $20,000 for Galloso’s murder, and prosecutors said he wanted the suspect ‘to be stabbed in the hall, to be gutted’ while in custody.
The murder-for-hire plot never materialized, and the artist’s attorneys argued that the social media threats were part of a rap persona and Hernandez did not intend for it to ever go ahead.
But Hernandez’s trial lasted less than a day, with a jury finding him guilty just an hour after prosecutors rested their case against the rapper.
He faces up to 15 years behind bars, but the judge overseeing his trial postponed sentencing because Hernandez has other open cases, including charges related to an alleged kidnapping of a fan in June.
Cuban rapper Chocolate MC hung his head in shame as he was found guilty on Wednesday of soliciting a murder-for-hire plot against a man accused of killing his friend
The rapper, real name Yosvanis Sierra Hernández (seen on stage in 2023), faces up to 15 years in prison, but his sentencing was postponed because he faces a slew of other charges including an alleged kidnapping of a fan
Hernandez issued social media threats against a man accused of killing singer El Taiger, real name José Manuel Carbajal Zaldívar (pictured), a close friend of Hernandez, in a shooting in October 2024
At his trial on Wednesday, Hernandez took the stand in his own defense to plead his innocence, insisting he did not intend for his social media posts to solicit Galloso’s murder.
Speaking in Spanish through a translator, Hernandez said he regretted the videos, and admitted that ‘in that moment, I didn’t express myself accordingly.’
‘I’m not capable of killing anyone,’ he said.
The artist’s attorneys said his posts were part of an ‘act’ for his rap career, but jurors were not convinced as he was found guilty soon after.
As the foreperson read out the verdict of guilty of the charge of murder, first-degree solicitation, Hernandez and his attorney were seen putting their heads in their hands and growing emotional.
As he awaits sentencing, Hernandez also faces another trial in connection to the alleged kidnapping of a fan in June.
The incident unfolded on the streets of Miami after the fan said they tried to get a picture with Hernandez, only for the rapper to allegedly hold them at gunpoint.
Hernandez then allegedly forced the fan into his own car and made them drive around for hours.
Hernandez was found guilty of ordering a hit on prison inmate Damián Valdés Galloso, who is facing charges for killing singer El Taiger in a shooting in October 2024. The murder-for-hire plot never materialized
After Galloso was arrested for the shooting, Hernandez took to social media to solicit a hit on the suspect behind bars, and footage of a video he shared to Instagram (pictured) was played in court
At his trial on Wednesday, Hernandez took the stand in his own defense to plead his innocence, and spoke through a translator as he insisted he is ‘not capable of killing anyone’
The fan alleged that Hernandez tried to rob him, and when he said he didn’t have any cash, he tried to steal his Zelle details, but that also failed because the victim didn’t have the popular payment app, police said.
Sierra-Hernandez is said to have forced the victim to drive him around to several locations for about two hours. Police said he let the man go in an area near 270 SW 11th Avenue.
He was charged with kidnapping with a firearm and armed robbery.
The alleged ambush came just a week before Hernandez was arrested for the murder-for-hire plot on Galloso.
He also faces a slew of previous charges, and in 2024 alone he was arrested for sexual battery, armed kidnapping, battery and grand theft charges, records show.
