A 27-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of the Memphis hip-hop artist known as Casino Jizzle.
Police said Michael Clayton was arrested at about 1 p.m. Monday in the 300 block of Exchange, after first being seen near 201 Poplar (the location of the Shelby County Jail and Criminal Justice Center). He was “taken into custody without incident,” according to police.
Clayton had been identified as a suspect from the start of the case, and a warrant charging him with first-degree murder was issued July 4, the day of the shooting.
Born Robert Tunstall and raised in East Memphis and Orange Mound, the 27-year-old rapper professionally known as Casino Jizzle was shot about 6:30 p.m. on Independence Day, in the 2200 block of Goldbrier Lane, not far from Raleigh-LaGrange Road. He was “pronounced deceased on the scene,” while “the known male suspect fled the scene in a black vehicle,” according to police, who later that day identified the suspect as Clayton.
The shooting occurred just three days before the July 7 release of the rapper’s latest full-length album, titled “Duh.” Casino Jizzle’s sixth collection of songs since 2018, “Duh,” available via Apple Music, contains 19 tracks and features such guest artists as Don Trip and Bankboy Wayne.
Some of Casino Jizzle’s previously released tracks include “4x4real,” which in three years has garnered 2.4 million views on YouTube, and “We Da Opps,” with 1.1. million views.
Tunstall family members on social media and in media interviews said Tunstall and Clayton had children with the same woman, and the shooting apparently was motivated by jealousy. Police have not confirmed a possible motive.