East Palo Alto Man Faces 3rd Strike For Handling Gun In Rap Video

EAST PALO ALTO (CBS SF) – A convicted felon and alleged gang member pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning to charges of illegally possessing a firearm after filming a rap music video in which he allegedly handled a gun on camera, San Mateo County prosecutors said.

Dellory Marzell Crooks, a 27-year-old resident of East Palo Alto, was arrested on an outstanding warrant Tuesday night in Menlo Park.

The warrant stems from the 2014 music video showing Crooks and four accomplices, all of whom are convicted felons and alleged members of an East Palo Alto gang, handling several firearms which investigators determined were real guns, prosecutors said.

For Crooks, who is prohibited from possessing a gun, this is a third-strike case.

Crooks is being represented by the San Mateo County Private Defender Program, but a specific attorney had not been appointed to his case as of Friday morning.

He returns to court on Oct. 30 for a preliminary hearing and remains in custody on $600,000 bail.

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