Anthony M. Sinclair, an 18-year-old local rapper known as VilleBoy Ant, was found fatally wounded from a gunshot outside the Days Inn Motel on North Military Highway in Norfolk on August 8, 2017. First responders arrived after a shots-fired call around 1 a.m.; Sinclair was pronounced dead at the scene. His death was recorded as the city’s 19th homicide that year.

Sinclair’s music often portrayed the violence and gang life present in parts of Norfolk, and his killing prompted fears of further escalation in a gang feud. Norfolk’s police chief Larry Boone urged the community to be more involved with youth and to intervene when they see signs of criminal behavior. Sinclair’s mother said he wasn’t perfect but was pursuing a music career.

Homicide detectives identified a suspect, and on August 30, 2017 a juvenile was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Two years later a teenager was convicted and, under a plea deal, sentenced to five years in prison.

Does anyone have information about Sinclair’s life, music, or the events that led up to that August night?