Man sentenced to more than 30 years for 2019 murder of Rockford rapper
A Rockford man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for first-degree murder and obstruction of justice charges.
Colton Kennicker, 24, was sentenced to 32 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the 2019 murder of Rockford rapper EBE Bandz, whose real name was William Pickering.
On June 1, 2019, Rockford police officers attempted to make a welfare check on Pickering. They went to several locations but could not find him.
More: Rockford man sentenced in absentia to life in prison for rapper's 2019 death
His vehicle, however, was located near his residence in the 500 block of Fisher Avenue. A day later, detectives spoke to several people of interest and were led to a crime scene in the 5200 block of Indianhead Avenue. They later obtained information that led them to an undisclosed location in unincorporated Winnebago County where Pickering's remains were found.
Authorities said Kennicker and two other men, William Azarte and Dakota Graff, beat Pickering with baseball bats before placing his body in a vehicle and setting his body on fire and leaving it in the field where officers found his remains.
An autopsy revealed that Pickering died from blunt force trauma and multiple points of impact were observed on his bones.
Kennicker was sentenced to 30 years for first-degree murder and two years for the obstruction of justice charges, according to the Winnebago County State's Attorney's office.
Azarte was sentenced to life in prison while Graff was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Man sentenced on first-degree murder charges of Rockford rapper
